Census-designated place · Collier County, Florida

Lely, Florida

Lely is a census-designated place in Collier County, Florida, part of the Naples-Marco Island, FL metro area. It has 3,804 residents. Lely, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,837 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #120 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on life expectancy (high), new business applications (high) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), hot days (high) and rent as share of income (high).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,837 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #120 of 780 in FL
Population: 3,804 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,772.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 1239987

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety82#2,800/15,637
Economy74#4,092/15,631
Housing5#14,194/14,977
Health90#1,594/15,609
Healthcare47#8,279/15,650
Environment46#8,309/15,453
Education75#3,989/15,649
Infrastructure41#9,226/15,650
Community64#5,630/15,651
Leisure & amenities94#944/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lely, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Collier County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Life expectancy · high84.1 yrs
99/100Florida 78.5 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCollier County value
New business applications · high24.2 /1k
95/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCollier County value
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100Florida 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCollier County value
Math scores · high3.43
92/100Florida 3.28United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCollier County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.7 /10k
92/100Florida 5.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCollier County value
Property crime rate · low482 /100k
90/100Florida 1,176 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCollier County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high99.3
1/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCollier County value
Hot days · high132 days
2/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCollier County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Rent-burdened households · high87.7%
3/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high28.4%
5/100Florida 13.7%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Drought exposure · high79%
13/100Florida 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACollier County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
70.0% (2015-2019) → 87.7% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
37.6% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
17.3% (2015-2019) → 28.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.4% (2015-2019) → 89.0% (2020-2024)
+7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$51,750 (2015-2019) → $69,846 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
21.0 min (2015-2019) → 19.1 min (2020-2024)
−8.8%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lely, Florida improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+35%$51,750 → $69,846
Broadband+7.6 points81.4% → 89.0%

Declined1

Rent / income+13 points37.6% → 51.0%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Lely, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.0 min2015-2019	19.1 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Within the margin of error	69%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.7%2015-2019	35.1%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	81.4%2015-2019	89.0%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Improved	47%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.69%2015-2019	0.56%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	44%
High school diploma or higher	94.8%2015-2019	96.0%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	4.7×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	64%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4332015-2019	0.4252020-2024	−0.008	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$51,7502015-2019	$69,8462020-2024	+35%	Improved	65%
Poverty rate	6.7%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	37.6%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	6%
Rent-burdened households	70.0%2015-2019	87.7%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.3%2015-2019	28.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	2%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lely, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lely, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lely, Florida itself moved +0.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,804 residents (±450)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,713 households (±188)

Lely, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k17%†287
$25k–50k15%†261
$50k–75k22%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,713 households (±188)

Lely, Florida
Florida share

Own83%1,429
Rent17%†284

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,510 workers (±280)

Lely, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone69%1,043
Carpool11%†160
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Naples-Marco Island, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Collier County, the county holding most of Lely's residents.

Collier County has 14,541 employer establishments, 353 for every 10,000 residents (1.42× the US rate of 248; 1.26× Florida's), with 151,907 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,454. The Census Bureau also counts 62,700 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 14,541; 62,700 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 353; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 151,907
Average annual pay: $58,454; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Collier County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Lessors of real estate	1,485	36.1	2.93×More than typical	4,196	$60,942	9,052
Specialty trade contractors	1,387	33.7	2.18×More than typical	12,121	$55,428	4,265
Ambulatory health care services	1,219	29.6	1.42×More than typical	11,299	$79,796	3,244
Real estate agents and brokers	964	23.4	4.81×More than typical	1,417	$75,543	3,258
Services to buildings and dwellings	858	20.9	3.09×More than typical	6,892	$42,259	5,190
Restaurants and other eating places	832	20.2	1.10×About typical	19,724	$27,827	301
Construction of buildings	680	16.5	2.19×More than typical	4,233	$82,735	2,491
Management, scientific and technical consulting	573	13.9	2.08×More than typical	1,135	$126,172	3,215
Building finishing contractors	553	13.4	3.54×More than typical	3,363	$52,145	1,817
Offices of physicians	486	11.8	1.82×More than typical	5,059	$107,523	498
Full-service restaurants	469	11.4	1.48×More than typical	14,036	$30,629	142
Building equipment contractors	418	10.2	1.69×More than typical	4,234	$58,241	751

Rank places for an industry Open Collier County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 411,435 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$998.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lely, Florida: -$263 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$998.7K; −115% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$263; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$3,3440.0%
U.S. Coast Guard$1,2820.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

29.2KFY2017
43.4KFY2018
93.7KFY2019
63.3KFY2020
90.5KFY2021
47.7KFY2022
85.3KFY2023
685KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$1,8750.0%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$1,4690.0%
Business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations · 8139$1,2820.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Lely, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Lely, Florida's figures are part of those of Collier County, FL ($60.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lely is mostly in Collier County.

See federal money in Collier County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lely, Florida is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Rick ScottR-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Collier County80100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Naples-Marco Island, FL81

Other cities and towns in Collier County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1239987

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends