The Village of Bal Harbour is isolated on 0.34 miles of land in Northern Miami-Dade county. The village originated as land owned by Miami Heights Cooperation, (comprised of Robert Graham, Walter Briggs, and C.T Fisher). Planning for Bal Harbour began in the 1930s by Harland Bartholomew & Associates, but the city was not incorporated until August 14, 1946.  The original name was Bay Harbour; Bal Harbour was later created to describe a city that ran from the bay to the Atlantic Ocean. The “B” was taken from the word bay and “al” were taken from the word Atlantic.

Bal Harbour village was the first planned community in Florida to have its utilities placed underground. The village was re-incorporated by an act of The Florida Legislature in 1947 and its own charter was issued on June 16, 1947. During World War II the village was rented out to the United States Air Corps for one dollar per year. The ocean front served as a riffle range and the barracks were located on the west of Collins Avenue. The prisoners of war camp were retained where the Bal Harbour shops are presently located. In 1959 the Bal Harbour beach was renovated due to severe erosion and underwent a re-nourishment initiative in 1971. The Bal Harbour shops were added in 1965. The famous Bal Harbour shops rank highly on the international scale with Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Rodeo Drive, Bond Street, and Champs Elyses.

The Bal Harbour community and its government are dedicated to preserving their reputation as one of Florida’s finest and most complete resort areas while remaining a residential community of distinction. Although Bal Harbour is one of Miami-Dade’s smallest municipalities in both size and population, it boasts one of Florida’s most affluent populations with a mean family income of over $126,000 annually. The community embraces the saying, “good things come in small packages” and its slogan is “Florida’s Paradise”.

Bal Harbour is made up of mostly high-rise apartments and extravagant single family homes. The median house value in Bal Harbour Village is $ 400,000. Bal Harbour’s population is largely Caucasian totaling 94.5 % of the community’s population, making it one of the least diverse of all the Gold Coast communities.