Here’s something that might surprise you: Fort Lauderdale is quietly becoming one of the best places in Florida for energy executives to land. Not Miami. Not Palm Beach. Fort Lauderdale.
And look, I get it. Miami gets all the buzz. But if you’re weighing your options in the C-suite—or thinking about what’s next—Fort Lauderdale deserves a harder look than most people give it.
“Fort Lauderdale offers a unique value proposition for energy executives,” says Jim Hickey, President Managing Partner at Perpetual Talent Solutions, a Fort Lauderdale executive search firm. “The compensation packages here are becoming increasingly competitive with Miami, while the overall quality of life and cost considerations make it an attractive choice for C-suite talent.”
Let me break down what that actually means in real numbers.
The Big Picture: What South Florida Pays
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area is one of the hottest executive job markets in the Southeast right now. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage here hit $31.88 in May 2024. That’s solid—but at the executive level, we’re talking about a completely different universe.
CEOs in Miami typically pull between $610,000 and $1,040,000 a year, with a median around $807,000 according to Salary.com. Fort Lauderdale? Pretty similar base salaries. The real differences show up in equity deals and performance bonuses.
“What we’re seeing in the Fort Lauderdale market is a maturation of executive compensation structures,” Hickey notes. “Energy companies are increasingly aligning their pay packages with performance metrics tied to sustainability goals and operational efficiency.”
Translation: hit your clean energy targets, and you’ll see it in your paycheck.
The Energy Sector: Where the Real Money Is
Here’s something you should know about South Florida’s energy scene: NextEra Energy—the parent company of Florida Power and Light—is headquartered in Juno Beach. That’s about 45 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale, and it shapes everything.
Their CEO, John Ketchum? He pulled in roughly $21.6 million in 2024. And here’s the kicker: 92.7% of that came from performance bonuses and stock awards. Base salary is almost beside the point at that level.
But you don’t have to be running a Fortune 500 to do well. The average executive compensation at NextEra Energy Resources hits $236,322 annually, with top executives earning up to $700,000, according to Comparably.
Nationally, investor-owned utilities paid their CEOs over $530 million combined in 2024, per the Energy and Policy Institute. That kind of industry-wide spending directly impacts what Fort Lauderdale companies need to offer to compete for talent.
“The competition for energy executives has intensified dramatically,” Hickey explains. “Companies in Fort Lauderdale are now competing not just with Miami-based firms, but with national players looking to establish or expand their Florida presence.”
Why Fort Lauderdale Actually Makes Sense
Okay, so here’s where it gets interesting.
Yes, Fort Lauderdale’s cost of living runs about 23% higher than the national average. Housing costs about 68% more. But—and this is a big but—it’s still more manageable than a lot of comparable metros. The median household income hit $79,935 in 2024, according to RentCafe.
When you’re earning mid-six to seven figures, that cost differential translates into real purchasing power. Your money simply goes further here than in, say, Manhattan or San Francisco.
And then there’s the tax situation. Florida has no state income tax. Compare that to California or New York, where top rates can exceed 13%. If you’re making $800,000 a year, that’s potentially over $100,000 staying in your pocket instead of going to the state.
For energy professionals specifically, ZipRecruiter puts the average annual salary at about $68,971 in Florida, with top earners (90th percentile) reaching $103,873. Executive-level roles with P&L responsibility obviously command much more.
How Fort Lauderdale Stacks Up Against the Neighbors
Let’s talk about the competition.
West Palm Beach, about 45 miles north, has exploded in financial services and wealth management. That’s pushed salaries up—average pay at companies like NextEra Energy in that area hits around $104,964, per PayScale.
Miami? Still the biggest executive market in the region, especially for international companies. It’s also cruise line central—Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian are all headquartered in Miami-Dade. Their CEOs earned between $12.8 million and $23.6 million in 2024, as WLRN reported.
“The key for energy executives evaluating Fort Lauderdale opportunities is understanding the total compensation picture,” Hickey advises. “Base salary is just one component. Long-term incentives, equity participation, and quality of life factors all contribute to the decision.”
He’s right. If you’re only looking at base pay, you’re missing most of the story.
Where This Is All Heading
Energy executive salaries in Fort Lauderdale aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
The 2025 Global Energy Talent Index found that 66% of hiring managers reported salary increases, and 74% of industry professionals expect that growth to continue, according to Airswift.
The shift toward renewables is changing how compensation works, too. More companies are tying executive bonuses to sustainability metrics—clean energy targets, efficiency improvements, that kind of thing. For oil and gas CEOs, median base salary increases ran about 3.96% in 2024, with exploration and production companies leading at 4.45%, per Pay Governance research.
Fort Lauderdale sits right in the middle of South Florida’s energy ecosystem. The infrastructure keeps improving, more companies are setting up shop, and the lifestyle… well, it’s hard to argue with the lifestyle.
“We’re at an inflection point in the energy industry,” Hickey concludes. “The executives who can navigate the transition to cleaner energy while maintaining operational excellence will command premium compensation. Fort Lauderdale is increasingly where those leaders want to be.”
Maybe it’s time to take a closer look.
