Best Places32081, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 32081, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
32081 ranks 106th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 32081
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
32081's strengths and weaknesses
Where 32081 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 32081 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,195 a month, better than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 32081
A household needs to earn about $170,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 32081 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $139,205, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 32081's effective rate of 0.91%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 32081
32081 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 32081.
Who works in 32081, and how
Work in 32081 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 41%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 32081
32081 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. The coast is about 15 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 32081 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 32081, month by month
32081 sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 57° | 46° |
| April | 80° | 70° | 60° |
| July | 90° | 81° | 75° |
| October | 82° | 75° | 67° |
Flying in and out of 32081
Jacksonville International sits about 31 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2025, with 86 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 32081
Schools across 32081 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ocean Palms Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Valley Ridge AcademyA+ · 83% proficient
- Palm Valley AcademyA+ · 82% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alice B. Landrum Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Fruit Cove Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Pacetti Bay Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Ponte Vedra High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Allen D Nease Senior High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Atlantic Coast High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 32081 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
32081 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 32081 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 32081 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 41% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 82% of zip codes, health care access beats 94%, and it is quieter than 74%.
Common questions about living in 32081
Is 32081 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 32081 ranks 106th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, state infrastructure, and good schools, and lowest on car insurance costs and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 32081 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $641,290. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $139,205 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 32081 safe?
Yes, 32081 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $95 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 32081?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 46. That works out to about 132 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of zip codes.
Is 32081 good for families?
Schools beat 98% of zip codes, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $1,195 a month.
Compare 32081 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 32081. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 32081 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
32081 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 32081: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 32081: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 32081: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 32081: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
32081 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.