Plantation, FL
What Plantation is actually like
Plantation was incorporated on April 23, 1953, starting with a population of about 300 and a city budget under $2,000 (Wikipedia). The name traces back further, to the Everglades Plantation Company, an early-1900s venture that tried and failed to grow rice on the site; millionaire shoe-business heir Frederick C. Peters bought roughly 10,000 acres of that former plantation land in 1939 and began developing it in the mid-1940s, with the first homes built in 1947 on East Acre Drive and marketed as “the Dream City” offering “Rich Living at Small Cost” — a two-bedroom house on a full acre, with 20 fruit trees included, reportedly sold for $10,241 (Wikipedia). The Miami Herald profiled the young city’s master plan in 1954 and dubbed it “The City of the Future.”
Growth from there was steady and then fast: the city’s population went from 4,772 in 1960 to 23,523 in 1970, then to 48,653 by 1980 and 82,934 by 2000, filling in the flatwoods between Fort Lauderdale and the newer suburbs further west (Wikipedia). Plantation became a genuine corporate address during this stretch too, not just a bedroom suburb — American Express ran a major operations center in the city from 1975 to 2017, and Motorola had a significant local presence from 1969 to 2015 (Wikipedia). Broward Mall opened in 1978 at roughly a million square feet, at the time the largest enclosed mall in the southern United States, and has anchored the city’s retail core ever since under a couple of different names (Wikipedia).
The city’s 2020 Census population was 91,750, and a 2024 estimate put it at roughly 100,694, keeping Plantation as one of Broward County’s larger, mostly built-out cities (Wikipedia). Recent growth has been redevelopment rather than new subdivisions on open land: the enclosed Fashion Mall at Plantation, which closed in 2006, is being replaced by Plantation Walk, a mixed-use shopping, dining, and residential district, and DHL’s U.S. Express head office and trading-technology firm TradeStation are both headquartered in the city today (Wikipedia). Plantation has also been a Tree City USA designee since 1980 and was named one of the nation’s “100 Best Communities for Young People” multiple times in the late 2000s and early 2010s (Wikipedia).
Home values in Plantation
Redfin put Plantation’s median sale price at roughly $530,000 over the three months ending in mid-2026, up about 0.9% year over year, with a median of about $285 per square foot; homes were getting about 3 offers on average and selling in roughly 69 days, which Redfin’s own Compete Score rates “somewhat competitive” rather than a hot seller’s market — check Redfin directly for the current month’s figure, since it moves (Redfin). Zillow’s Home Value Index put the typical Plantation home value at about $498,600 as of its most recent update, down roughly 2.7% over the preceding year (Zillow). RentCafe puts the average Plantation apartment rent at around $2,513 a month (down about 1% year over year), with studios averaging roughly $1,725, one-bedrooms around $2,183, two-bedrooms around $2,643, and three-bedrooms around $3,105 (RentCafe). Plantation is mostly single-family and townhome stock rather than a condo-dominated market, so Florida’s SB 4-D condo structural-inspection and reserve-funding law is a smaller factor here than in coastal Broward high-rise markets, but it can still matter for any older mid-rise condo building in the city; a fair number of Plantation neighborhoods (Jacaranda, Plantation Acres, and communities near Plantation Preserve among them) do carry HOA dues, so pulling the HOA budget and rules before making an offer is still worthwhile.
Getting around
A Walk Score lookup for a central Plantation (33324) address rated the area 46 out of 100 (Car-Dependent), with a Transit Score of 43 (Some Transit) and a Bike Score of 44 (Somewhat Bikeable) (Walk Score); these scores vary meaningfully by neighborhood within the city, so check the current address-specific numbers directly rather than treating one location as representative of all of Plantation.
Plantation FAQ
Is Plantation walkable?
Not really for most of the city — a Walk Score lookup for a central Plantation address came back Car-Dependent, meaning most errands require a car, though scores vary by neighborhood and some areas near Central Park and the city’s newer mixed-use development score better (Walk Score).
Does Plantation flood?
It’s inland and not exposed to coastal storm surge, but the city’s canal network can bring standing water to low-lying streets during heavy summer rain, so flood risk is worth checking address by address (First Street Foundation).
What happened to Plantation General Hospital?
It relocated in the 2010s to a new HCA Florida University Hospital campus about 6.7 miles away in Davie, next to Nova Southeastern University; the original Plantation site kept a 24/7 freestanding emergency room but no longer has inpatient beds (NSU Newsroom).
Do I need a car in Plantation?
For nearly all daily errands, yes — there’s no Tri-Rail station or Metrorail in the city, and Broward County Transit buses only cover the main arterial roads; that said, Plantation’s central Broward location means shorter drives to Fort Lauderdale, the airport, and Sawgrass Mills than from many western suburbs.
Is Plantation good for families?
By reputation and history, yes — it was designed from the start as a planned family suburb, it’s been a Tree City USA community since 1980, and it’s been recognized more than once as one of the nation’s “100 Best Communities for Young People” (Wikipedia).
What is there to do in Plantation?
Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club and the surrounding 77-acre Central Park, Broward Mall for shopping, and the emerging Plantation Walk mixed-use district are the city’s main anchors, alongside the historic 1912 Sewell Lock for a look at the area’s pre-development past.
Nearby alternatives*We're not ranking these — every neighborhood has real trade-offs, and which ones matter is up to you.
Wilton Manors
A much smaller, denser, and more walkable Broward city to the east, for comparison against Plantation's suburban scale.
Sunrise
Plantation's neighbor just to the north, home to the Sawgrass Mills mega-mall and the Florida Panthers' arena.
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