What counts as a “liberal” city in Florida depends on how you measure it. This ranking uses one transparent political proxy: the 2024 Republican presidential vote share in the county each city sits in. Lower GOP share means a more liberal proxy. To keep the list comparable, only incorporated Florida cities with at least 5,000 residents were included, and population was used as the tie-breaker.
This is a county-level ranking, not a city-level election map. That matters. Cities in the same county share the same GOP percentage in this dataset, so the list is best read as a practical directional guide, not a claim that every city voted identically.
How we ranked the cities
We used a simple method:
- Lower 2024 county Republican vote share = more liberal proxy
- Democratic proxy = 100 minus GOP share
- Only incorporated places with population of at least 5,000 were included
- Ties were broken by larger population
The geography layer came from Census TIGER/Line place and county boundaries, and population context came from ACS 2023 5-year place estimates using table B01003_001E.
Ranked list: 25 most liberal cities in Florida
| Rank | City | County | GOP % | Dem % proxy | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quincy | Gadsden | 34.3 | 65.7 | 7,818 |
| 2 | Tallahassee | Leon | 38.5 | 61.5 | 199,696 |
| 3 | Gainesville | Alachua | 38.8 | 61.2 | 143,611 |
| 4 | Alachua | Alachua | 38.8 | 61.2 | 10,638 |
| 5 | Newberry | Alachua | 38.8 | 61.2 | 7,608 |
| 6 | High Springs | Alachua | 38.8 | 61.2 | 6,396 |
| 7 | Fort Lauderdale | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 183,032 |
| 8 | Pembroke Pines | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 170,557 |
| 9 | Hollywood | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 152,935 |
| 10 | Miramar | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 135,986 |
| 11 | Coral Springs | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 133,962 |
| 12 | Pompano Beach | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 112,212 |
| 13 | Davie | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 106,412 |
| 14 | Sunrise | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 96,633 |
| 15 | Plantation | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 94,002 |
| 16 | Deerfield Beach | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 86,742 |
| 17 | Lauderhill | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 73,961 |
| 18 | Tamarac | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 71,887 |
| 19 | Weston | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 67,952 |
| 20 | Margate | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 58,418 |
| 21 | Coconut Creek | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 57,587 |
| 22 | North Lauderdale | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 44,650 |
| 23 | Oakland Park | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 44,015 |
| 24 | Hallandale Beach | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 41,224 |
| 25 | Lauderdale Lakes | Broward | 41.0 | 59.0 | 35,924 |
What stands out in the ranking
The list is highly concentrated in four counties.
Gadsden County places first through Quincy, which had the lowest Republican vote share in this dataset at 34.3%.
Leon County puts Tallahassee at No. 2 with a GOP share of 38.5%.
Alachua County places four cities in the top six: Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, and High Springs, all tied on county vote share at 38.8% and sorted by population.
Broward County dominates the rest of the ranking. From Fort Lauderdale at No. 7 to Lauderdale Lakes at No. 25, every city in that block shares the same 41.0% GOP figure because they are all in Broward.
Top 10 cities at a glance
1. Quincy
Quincy ranks first because it is located in Gadsden County, the lowest-GOP county in this ranking.
2. Tallahassee
Tallahassee is the largest city near the very top of the list and the clearest large-city example of a liberal-leaning Florida location by this method.
3. Gainesville
Gainesville leads the Alachua County group because it shares the county’s lower GOP share and has the largest population in that cluster.
4. Alachua
Alachua ranks high for the same county-level reason as Gainesville, though with a much smaller population.
5. Newberry
Newberry stays in the top five because it shares Alachua County’s political proxy and ranks ahead of smaller cities in the same county.
6. High Springs
High Springs completes the Alachua County group in the top tier.
7. Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale is the highest-ranked Broward County city and the top large-city entry from that county.
8. Pembroke Pines
Pembroke Pines follows Fort Lauderdale, with the same county-level vote profile and a slightly smaller population.
9. Hollywood
Hollywood remains in the top 10 because Broward County performs strongly on this proxy.
10. Miramar
Miramar rounds out the top 10, also benefiting from Broward’s lower GOP share relative to most of Florida.
Important limitation to keep in mind
This article does not prove that each city itself voted the same way as its county. It uses county-level 2024 presidential vote share as a consistent statewide proxy. That makes the method transparent, but it also creates clustering. Multiple cities in the same county will always share the same percentages.
That limitation should be read as a caution, not a flaw hidden in the fine print. It explains exactly what this ranking measures and what it does not.
Final takeaway
Using 2024 county presidential results as the definition of a liberal proxy, Quincy, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and a large group of Broward County cities rank as the most liberal cities in Florida.
The broader pattern matters more than any single placement: Florida’s most liberal-leaning cities, by this method, are concentrated in a handful of counties rather than spread evenly across the state.