Moving to Margate, FL puts you in a nine square mile Broward County suburb where the average two bedroom rented for $2,185 in August 2026 and the Atlantic is 7.5 miles east. Margate sits between Coral Springs, Coconut Creek and North Lauderdale, holds about 58,700 people, and runs almost entirely on four commercial roads. This guide covers what living here costs, which neighborhoods suit which buyers, the job market, the schools, the weather, and the parts of settling in that nobody warns you about.
Margate at a Glance: Nine Square Miles Between Coral Springs and the Coast
Margate is a Broward County city of tree lined streets and roughly 30 miles of canals, and it is the 14th largest of the county's 31 municipalities. The city runs 19 parks and recreational facilities, sits 7.5 miles from the ocean, and is about 20 minutes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades (City of Margate). The 2020 Census counted 58,712 residents, up 10.2 percent from 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau).
Four roads carry nearly everything. Atlantic Boulevard is the main commercial spine and the fastest route to both the Sawgrass Expressway and Pompano Beach. State Road 7, which everyone here calls 441, is the north to south strip where the Caribbean, Haitian, Peruvian and Thai kitchens sit. Margate Boulevard holds City Hall, the library and the city's flagship golf course. Coconut Creek Parkway cuts the southern third. Sample Road and University Drive frame the north and west edges.
The name is a portmanteau. Founder Jack Marqusee took the first three letters of his surname and the first four of "gateway," because the town was pitched as the gateway to western Broward. Margate became a town on May 30, 1955 and a city in 1961, which means most of the housing stock predates the 1990s building boom that shaped Coral Springs and Weston.
What Living in Margate Actually Costs
Margate is a mid priced Broward suburb, not a cheap one. Salary.com put the city's 2026 cost of living at roughly $2,860 a month for a single person and $6,299 for a family of four, about 16 percent above the U.S. average (Salary.com). That gap is almost entirely housing and insurance. Groceries, fuel and everyday retail sit close to the national line.
Rents as of August 2026 averaged $1,408 for a studio, $1,913 for a one bedroom, $2,185 for a two bedroom and $2,849 for a three bedroom (Apartments.com). Set against a median household income of $64,602 (Livability), a two bedroom takes a serious bite, which is why so many Margate households are either long tenured owners or two income renters.
Buying is the calmer side of the market. Redfin scored Margate 17 out of 100 for competitiveness with an average sale price around $325,000 (Redfin), a figure that tells you homes here sit long enough to negotiate on. That is unusual for eastern Broward and it is the single strongest argument for the city over its pricier neighbors. Run your own numbers before you commit, and if you are comparing quotes, the moving cost calculator is a faster starting point than three phone calls.
Most people who rent first end up with less closet space than they left behind, since Margate's older apartment stock was not built for the way people accumulate now. The small 5×5 storage lockers are the ones renters ask about most, usually for holiday bins, sports gear and the boxes that never got unpacked.
Margate Neighborhoods and Who Each One Suits
Margate does not have dramatic neighborhood swings. The whole city fits inside nine square miles, and you can cross it in twelve minutes off peak. What changes from one section to the next is housing type, age mix and how far you sit from traffic.
The Atlantic Boulevard Corridor: Errands, Restaurants and the Shortest Drive to Everything
The Atlantic Boulevard corridor is where most of the city's plazas, restaurants and big box retail sit, which makes it the easiest place to live if you hate making two trips. Lakewood Shopping Center at 5385 West Atlantic Boulevard is the busiest strip center in the city, anchored by Marshalls with Rack Room Shoes and a recently opened Bath & Body Works alongside. Parking is free and plentiful. The Marshalls homeware aisles here are stronger than the clothing side, which is genuinely useful when you are furnishing a place.
The Walmart Supercenter at 5555 West Atlantic Boulevard is the practical answer to where a new arrival buys everything in week one, from a shower curtain to a lawn chair. A few blocks west, Palm Lakes Plaza is a 12.6 acre center built in 1979 whose tenants are mostly independent shops and service businesses rather than national names. It rewards a slow drive through more than a planned trip.
Nothing here is walkable between plazas. Each center is walkable inside itself, and then you get back in the car. Set expectations accordingly if you are arriving from a city with sidewalks that go somewhere.
The State Road 7 Corridor: Caribbean Kitchens and the Cheapest Weekly Shop
The 441 corridor is the most internationally flavored part of Margate and the reason food here is better than a suburb of this size has any right to expect. Delish Caribbean Restaurant at 171 South State Road 7 cooks Haitian creole: griot, tasso, stew chicken, whole fried fish and conch fritters. It runs from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. most days, to midnight on Friday and to 4 a.m. on Saturday, which makes it one of the only genuinely late kitchens in the city.
Grace of God Restaurant at 360 South State Road 7 is the other Haitian anchor, open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Order the patties or the griot. It is counter service, clean and family friendly, and it serves one of the cheapest full plates in Margate. The Dutch Pot Jamaican Restaurant covers the jerk chicken and curried goat side of the same block, with a lunch line that moves fast because most of it is takeout.
Groceries on this corridor are cheap and specific. The Shoppes at Margate at 300 to 366 South State Road 7 is a 52,758 square foot center with 11 stores including Carnival Grocery, which is the reason most people stop, and Town Shoppes of Margate at 2450 North State Road 7 is anchored by a Bealls carrying clothing, shoes and homeware for the whole family. The clearance racks at the back of Bealls are where the real bargains sit. The corridor's drawback is traffic: rush hour is heavy and left turns are the daily frustration.
Margate Boulevard and the Civic Core: City Hall, the Library and Oriole Golf Club
Margate Boulevard is the quiet institutional spine, and it is where the city's events calendar actually happens. City Hall sits at 5790 Margate Boulevard next to the clock tower, with the Catharine Young Library nearby running children's programs and community sessions. The library is free, air conditioned and the obvious fallback on a wet afternoon in a city with few indoor options.
Oriole Golf Club at 8000 Margate Boulevard is the course Margate is known for: 18 holes, par 72, semi private but open to public play, running more than 50 years. Fairways are fairly open off the tee, the greens are small with a lot of movement, and the par 3s carry the difficulty. It also has one of the only full natural grass practice ranges in the area, which is why locals warm up here rather than elsewhere (Oriole Golf Club).
The Northwest Focal Point Senior Center is the amenity that should decide the move for a lot of readers. It is a city run center serving adults 60 and over across Margate and Broward County, with arts and crafts, live music, fitness classes, bingo, discussion groups and organized day trips, and many classes and lectures are open to all ages. Because it is a special district of the city rather than a private club, the programming is genuinely cheap or free.
The Oriole Golf and Tennis Club Area: Condos, Villas and 55-Plus Living
The condo and villa communities wrapped around the Oriole course, developed in phases from the 1970s, hold a large share of Margate's 55-plus housing. This is where the city's age profile shows: the 2020 Census put the median age at 44.3, with 21.5 percent of residents aged 65 or over. If you want a tee time you can walk to and an association that handles the roof, this is the section to shop.
Downsizing into one of these units is the most common Margate move there is, and it is the one that goes wrong most often. A two story house in Coral Springs does not fit into a two bedroom villa, and the furniture you keep for the grandchildren has to live somewhere. A one bedroom's worth of furniture fits in the 10×10 storage units, which is the size most people land on after they measure.
North Margate: Quiet Streets, Peppertree Plaza and a Short Hop to Coconut Creek
North Margate is palm lined residential streets in the northern third of the city, closer to Sample Road and the Coconut Creek line. The housing is older single family stock on quiet blocks, and the trade is simple: you give up the restaurant density of Atlantic Boulevard and gain a five minute drive to Butterfly World and Tradewinds Park.
Peppertree Plaza at 5600 West Sample Road is where this side of the city does the weekly shop. The 249,571 square foot center is anchored by Winn-Dixie, which runs 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., along with Office Depot, Planet Fitness and Dollar Tree. Hillsboro Antique Mall moved into the same plaza after a 16 year run at Festival Marketplace, so older directions to it are wrong. It is South Florida's largest antique mall, women led and family owned with more than 150 vendors, and it opens only from noon to 6 p.m. daily, which catches people out.
Coral Gate, Winfield and Southgate: Canal Streets and Lower Price Points
The canal side pockets in the middle and south of the city are the value play. Coral Gate is built around Coral Gate Park, a five acre neighborhood park with two full size tennis courts, three half court hoops, six pickleball lanes, shaded benches and a large playground. There is no membership and no booking for the courts, which is the point of it, and the pavilions can be rented for birthday parties.
Winfield wraps around Winfield Park, a canal front pocket park off Winfield Boulevard with swings, picnic tables, two fishing docks, a boat ramp and a mini climbing wall. Children feed the tilapia and watch turtles surface. It is free, quiet, and five minutes from the traffic on 441, and the boat ramp is the useful part if you keep a small boat or kayak.
Southgate, toward the North Lauderdale line, and Margate Estates, an established single family pocket, round out the residential options. Residents describe Southgate as quiet and peaceful, and it tends to carry the lower price points in the city. Margate Estates suits buyers who want a conventional Broward single family street rather than a condo association and its rules.
The Job Market, Commuting and Getting Around From Margate
Margate is a commuter city inside a large metro, so most residents work outside it. The city names Northwest Medical Center, the City of Margate itself, Broward County Public Schools and several large auto dealerships among the area's major employers. The average commute runs about 28 minutes (U.S. News), which is normal for Broward and better than the drive from the western suburbs.
The road position is the real selling point. Florida's Turnpike and the Sawgrass Expressway are both a few minutes out, I-95 is reachable on Atlantic or Sample Road, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International is about 20 minutes south. Broward County Transit Route 62 serves the city and connects neighborhoods to State Road 7, but transit here is a supplement rather than a plan. You will need a car.
Rush hour is worth understanding before you pick a street. Atlantic Boulevard and 441 both back up between 4 and 6 p.m., and the left turn signals on 441 are the specific thing that turns a ten minute errand into twenty five. Living north of Sample Road or west of University Drive changes your daily experience of the same city.
Schools, Parks and Family Life in Margate
Margate's public schools are run by Broward County Public Schools, the district that also ranks among the city's largest employers, and school assignment follows the district's boundary map rather than city limits (Broward County Public Schools). Check the exact address before you sign anything, because a street on the Coconut Creek or North Lauderdale side can zone somewhere you did not expect.
Roughly 27.4 percent of Margate households had children under 18 at the 2020 Census, and the city's parks system does a lot of the work of keeping them entertained. Firefighters Park is the best all round park in the city: five lighted tennis courts, four pickleball courts, two full basketball courts, a sand volleyball court, a soccer rink, a half mile fitness trail with a dozen free stations, and Safety Town, a miniature streetscape where children learn road safety. The playground now sits under a large awning on astroturf rather than sand, which matters enormously in July, and the lighted courts mean tennis stays playable after sunset.
Calypso Cove is the city's Caribbean themed aquatic facility inside Royal Palm Park, with two 30 foot slides, a zero entry pool, a splash playground, a lap pool and shaded umbrella seating. It is seasonal, resident admission is cheaper than non resident, and shade is limited so bring a hat. When it is out of season, the splash pad at the Margate Sports Complex is the free alternative, and the same complex hosts the Sounds at Sundown concerts with food trucks in the evenings.
Weather, Hurricane Season and the Practical Side of a Florida Move
Margate has two seasons, wet and dry, not four. NOAA 30 year normals run from a January average high of 76.2F and low of 59.1F to an August high of 91.4F and low of 76.8F, and the city takes about 61 inches of rain a year (HistoricalClimate). September is the wettest month at 8.13 inches; February is the driest at 1.95. The comfortable stretch runs November through May, roughly 169 comfortable days, and dew points sit above 65F from May to October, which is when the air turns muggy rather than merely warm.
Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, peaks on September 10, and concentrates most of its activity between mid August and mid October (NOAA National Hurricane Center). Margate is inland at 13 feet of elevation, so storm surge is not the local threat it is on the barrier islands. Wind, extended power outages and the flooding of a city built around 30 miles of canals are. Ask about the roof age and the impact windows on any house you tour, because those two answers drive your insurance quote more than anything else.
The humidity is the part that surprises people who move furniture here from a dry climate. Wood swells, upholstery mildews, paper curls and electronics corrode in a closed garage between June and October. Climate controlled storage in Margate exists for exactly that reason, and it is the difference between retrieving a sofa and replacing one.
Storm prep here also has a storage dimension nobody mentions in the brochures. When a watch goes up, everything loose on a patio has to come inside, and a Margate garage is usually already full. Patio sets, grills, bikes and pool gear are the classic contents of a 5×10 unit between June and November, and the people who sort it out in May are not the ones queuing at the hardware store in September.
Settling In: Where Locals Eat, Shop and Spend Weekends
The first month is when the gaps in a move show up, so give yourself a few fixed points early. Toasted Cafe at 5428 West Atlantic Boulevard has been family owned since 2016 and runs 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day, with Belgian waffles and omelettes on one half of the menu and spinach pie, gyro pita, moussaka and pastitsio on the Greek half. The kitchen shuts at 2 sharp, and weekend mid morning is when the wait appears.
Lester's Diner at 4701 Coconut Creek Parkway has been a South Florida institution since 1967 and runs 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, serving full breakfast all day in the oversized coffee cups it is known for. It is the default when nobody can agree on anywhere else. For a real dinner out, Pasta And at 4990 West Atlantic Boulevard does northern Italian from the Piedmont with pasta made fresh daily, chefs Luigi and Esperanza Marenco in the kitchen with their son Gian Marco, and a cellar of more than 1,000 temperature controlled Italian labels. It is dinner only, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays, and it is a small white tablecloth room that fills on weekends, so book ahead. Our guide to the best restaurants in Margate goes deeper on the rest, and there is a separate rundown of where to find brunch in Margate if weekend mornings are your thing.
Serious shopping happens ten minutes west at Coral Square in Coral Springs, an enclosed mall open since 1984 with more than 120 tenants including JCPenney, Macy's, Kohl's and Old Navy, plus a food court that is a reasonable lunch stop in its own right. Occupancy is unusually high for an enclosed mall, so it does not have the half empty feel of many. The Margate shopping guide covers the antique malls, outlets and thrift options in more detail.
Weekends fill quickly once you know the radius. Butterfly World in Coconut Creek keeps about 20,000 butterflies and birds in open air aviaries roughly ten minutes north, and it sits inside Tradewinds Park, a 600 acre county park with stables, disc golf, fishing lakes and a model steam train on the third weekend of the month. Fern Forest Nature Center, also in Coconut Creek, protects 247 acres with 34 fern species, a raised boardwalk, an observation tower and no admission charge. The city's own calendar carries Movies in the Park, the International Festival, a Fourth of July parade and the Winter Festival in mid December (City of Margate Special Events). For a fuller list, see things to do in Margate and, if you are timing a visit before the move, the best time to visit Margate.
One practical note on timing. If your closing date slips or your lease dates do not line up, which happens constantly in Broward, a whole house of furniture fits into a 10×20 storage unit for the weeks in between. Working through a moving checklist a month out is the cheapest way to find that problem early rather than on the day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Margate, Florida a good place to live?
Margate suits people who want Broward County access without Coral Springs or Boca Raton prices. Homes average around $325,000 and the market is slow enough to negotiate, the city runs 19 parks and three golf courses, and the airport is 20 minutes away. The trade is that it is car dependent, the housing stock is older, and there is no beach inside the city limits.
What is it like living in Margate?
Daily life in Margate is suburban and low key. You drive to plazas rather than walk to shops, you eat well and cheaply on the 441 corridor, and you plan outdoor time around the morning from June to October. The city is genuinely mixed, with a large 65-plus population alongside families, and it has an active events calendar for a city of 58,700.
What are the pros and cons of moving to Margate, FL?
The pros are price relative to neighboring cities, a slow buyer friendly market, quick access to the Turnpike, the Sawgrass and the airport, three golf courses inside city limits, and strong parks. The cons are older housing that needs roof and window scrutiny for insurance, a cost of living about 16 percent above the U.S. average, heavy rush hour on Atlantic Boulevard and 441, and no walkable downtown.
What is the ethnicity of Margate, Florida?
Margate is one of Broward County's more evenly mixed cities. The 2020 Census recorded 30.9 percent non-Hispanic White residents, 31.5 percent non-Hispanic Black, 27.1 percent Hispanic or Latino of any race and 4.3 percent Asian. That mix shows up most obviously in the food, with Haitian, Jamaican, Peruvian, Mexican, Greek and Thai kitchens all within a few miles.
Are Pompano Beach and Margate, FL the same?
No. Pompano Beach and Margate are separate Broward County cities. Margate is inland, about 7.5 miles west of the ocean, while Pompano Beach sits on the Atlantic and has the pier, the public beach and the fishing village. Atlantic Boulevard runs straight from Margate to the Pompano Beach oceanfront in about 20 minutes off peak.
How far is it from Fort Lauderdale to Margate, Florida?
Margate sits roughly 14 miles northwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, which is about 30 minutes by car outside rush hour and longer in season. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades are both about 20 minutes from the city, and Fort Lauderdale Beach and Las Olas Boulevard are a reasonable evening trip rather than a day out.
Storage and the First Few Months in Margate
Value Store It's Margate storage facility rents month to month with no long term contract, which is what you want when a move has moving parts. The lineup runs wider than the three sizes people usually picture: 10×5 units suit a studio's overflow or a home office you are packing up, 5×15 units take a long narrow load like a dining set plus boxes, and 10×15 units hold a two bedroom without the tetris. At the top end, the 10×30 handles a large house, a small business inventory or the contents of a renovation.
If you are still deciding, measure first and rent second. The facility is open seven days a week, units carry individual door alarms, and packing supplies are available on site so you are not making a separate trip. Stop in once you have a closing date, and you can sort the space question before the truck arrives rather than after.
