It's true that in the priciest zip codes it's easy to find Miami's higher-value properties. But what else is worth knowing about Miami's richest, most exclusive communities?
As a real estate professional, my work always centers on the buying and selling of property. Knowing what — and where — the best opportunities are within these communities is one of MIAMInmobiliario's priorities.
In this article you'll learn about the smaller, specific gated communities within Miami, so you can establish your future in a thriving area with the guarantees to protect your wealth when you're working with healthy budgets.
At MIAMInmobiliario we're familiar with managing high-value Miami real estate, so we can give you solid reference points to ease the challenges that come as you move into the upper price tiers.
The 10 richest neighborhoods in Miami at a glance
Every enclave below is covered in detail further down. This is the short version — where each one sits, its ZIP code, and the price band you should expect to work with.| Neighborhood | City | ZIP | Price range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Creek Island | Indian Creek Village | 33154 | $14.4M – $47M |
| North Bay Road (waterfront) | Miami Beach | 33140 | $7.5M – $45M |
| Hibiscus Island | Miami Beach | 33139 | $1.2M – $14M |
| Star Island | Miami Beach | 33139 | $7.1M – $28M |
| The Venetian Islands | Miami Beach | 33139 | $1M – $25M |
| Fisher Island | Miami-Dade | 33109 | $1M – $30M |
| South of Fifth | Miami Beach | 33139 | $500K – $26M |
| Gables Estates | Coral Gables | 33156 | $5.9M – $43.7M |
| Tahiti Beach | Coral Gables | 33143 | $4.3M – $14.5M |
| Harbor Point / Mashta Island | Key Biscayne | 33149 | $3M – $47M |
Miami Beach – Indian Creek Island
Known as Miami's billionaire bunker. It holds only 40 properties across 250 acres. It's a 0.4-square-mile island, and at the same time one of the smallest, wealthiest, and most elite neighborhoods in the United States. It's home to the highest end: Forbes 100 CEOs, supermodels, and Hollywood celebrities live here.It offers a secure, private environment, with a police force that patrols the island by boat, jeep, and jet ski to ensure full security 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The only entrance to the island is the bridge to the nearest neighborhood, Bal Harbour.
The biggest obstacle is finding an available property: as of today there's only one sale on the market, and no real estate sales have been recorded in the past four years.
Price range: $14.4M – $47M
Miami Beach – North Bay Road (waterfront lots)
North Bay Road is regarded by many as the main street for residents of Miami Beach, and therefore one of Miami's richest, most exclusive communities. It's very close to Lincoln Road, Purdy Avenue, and other prime beach locations.North Bay Road is a quiet, picturesque place, in sharp contrast with the busy Alton Road. Here you'll find excellent homes with coastal views, on par with the homes on Hibiscus Island.
Price range: $7.5M – $45M
Miami Beach – Hibiscus Island
Hibiscus Island is a man-made island in Biscayne Bay, reached from the MacArthur Causeway and paired with neighboring Palm Island. It is strictly residential — no hotels, no retail, no through traffic — with a guarded entrance that filters everyone who crosses the bridge. That combination is what buyers pay for: the island sits minutes from downtown Miami, Brickell, Wynwood and South Beach, yet the street grid ends at the water and the traffic simply is not there. Waterfront lots carry a clear premium over interior ones, and the interior lots are the reason the entry point here is lower than on Star or Indian Creek.Price range: $1.2M – $14M
Miami Beach – Star Island
This island is home to the richest and most famous. Its only drawback is the presence of tourist boats passing by to admire the enclave. Star Island is the place to find top-tier real estate, especially at the ends of the island, where you'll find the largest lots.Price range: $7.1M – $28M
The Venetian Islands
This is one of Miami's most ambitious coastal neighborhoods. It's a magnet for luxury buyers from the Northeast and California. These islands are popular for hosting numerous new waterfront mansions. This is, without a doubt, a place to consider if you want to be in one of Miami's most exclusive neighborhoods.Price range: $1M – $25M
Fisher Island
Fisher Island was the tenth most expensive zip code in the U.S. in 2018, and the most expensive in Miami-Dade.That said, on Fisher Island you'll find some of the most luxurious, exclusive condominiums — though not the highest-value single-family homes, since the lots and houses aren't as large.
If you're after a high-privacy condominium setting, choose Fisher Island. You need to take a ferry to reach the island, which features a 9-hole golf course, 18 tennis courts, beach clubs, and several restaurants that make this private island a private island with style.
Price range: $1M – $30M
Miami Beach – South of Fifth
Miami's leading condominium neighborhood is called South of Fifth. Among the reasons is the presence of Miami's most established restaurants: Joe's Stone Crab and Prime 112.With no hotels and a large number of residents, the most luxurious buildings are Continuum, Apogee, Ocean House, 321 Ocean, and Glass. And you can expect to pay between $2,200 and $2,700 per square foot.
Price range: $500K – $26M
Coral Gables – Gables Estates
This is one of the most private of Miami's richest, most exclusive communities, notable for its large number of properties with direct water views (only 42 homes have direct water views in Miami). Leucadendra Drive, Arvida Parkway, and Casuarina Concourse are the main streets in this area.This is one of the few places where you can find a couple of acres on open water, with the best schools in the state a few minutes away. You'll also enjoy an excellent set of golf courses, as well as the heart of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. Looking for the best suburban living environment in Miami? Choose Coral Gables.
Price range: $5.9M – $43.7M
Coral Gables – Tahiti Beach
Can you imagine an ultra-luxury community inside an existing luxury community in Cocoplum? This is not the kind of community you can simply drive through — you need a personal invitation from a resident just to pass the gate. As in Gables Estates, here you'll find prime ocean views on open water.Price range: $4.3M – $14.5M
Key Biscayne – Harbor Point / Mashta Island
It's a fact: there are only 42 waterfront homes with completely unobstructed ocean views. S. Mashta Drive and Harbor Point are the two best streets, where a 20,000-square-foot lot can run roughly $10 million, and where you can find some remarkably spectacular contemporary homes of 10,000 square feet or more.Why choose Key Biscayne? This 12-mile island sits near Brickell, the Grove, and Coral Gables. A highly self-contained island where even the youngest children can bike to the island's A-rated school, St. Agnes. Island living at its finest, without the excessive isolation.
Price range: $3M – $47M
Frequently asked questions
What are the most exclusive neighborhoods in Miami?
Exclusivity here is a function of access, not just price. The three hardest enclaves to buy into are Indian Creek Island — 40 properties on a private island with its own police force — Fisher Island, reachable only by ferry, and Gables Estates, which screens buyers through a membership-style approval process. Star Island and Tahiti Beach follow. In all five, the binding constraint is inventory: on Indian Creek there is typically a single home on the market at any given time.
What are the high-end sections of Miami?
They cluster in three areas. Miami Beach holds the largest concentration — North Bay Road, Star Island, Hibiscus Island, the Venetian Islands and South of Fifth, all in ZIP codes 33139 and 33140. Coral Gables holds the mainland equivalents, Gables Estates and Tahiti Beach, in 33156 and 33143. Key Biscayne, in 33149, holds the third. Fisher Island (33109) and Indian Creek (33154) sit outside all three as private islands with their own governance.
What are the top luxury neighborhoods in Miami Beach specifically?
Within Miami Beach proper, the ranking by entry price runs North Bay Road waterfront ($7.5M and up), Star Island ($7.1M and up), the Venetian Islands and Hibiscus Island ($1M–$1.2M and up), and South of Fifth ($500K and up). The spread is wide because the first two are single-family waterfront markets while the last is predominantly a condominium market — South of Fifth gives you the address at a fraction of the ticket, without the land.
Which are the most expensive neighborhoods in Miami by entry price?
Indian Creek Island is the most expensive by a wide margin: the cheapest available property has been in the $14.4M range. North Bay Road waterfront follows at $7.5M, then Star Island at $7.1M and Gables Estates at $5.9M. Note that entry price and ceiling are different questions — Key Biscayne's Harbor Point starts at $3M but reaches $47M, the same ceiling as Indian Creek.
Which Miami ZIP code is the most expensive?
33109 — Fisher Island — has repeatedly ranked as the most expensive ZIP code in Miami-Dade and among the most expensive in the United States. It is worth reading that statistic carefully: 33109 covers one private island and nothing else, which is why its average holds up. ZIP codes like 33139 mix private islands with condominium towers and average out much lower, even though they contain some of the most expensive homes in the city.