Best Places33549, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 33549, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
33549 ranks 9,022nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 33549
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.
33549's strengths and weaknesses
Where 33549 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 133 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
Where 33549 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Short commute30.1 minutes each way, better than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 33549
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 33549 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,878, 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 33549's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 33549
33549 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 33549.
Who works in 33549, and how
Work in 33549 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 33549
The coast is about 19 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 33549, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 33549, month by month
33549 sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 72, with lows near 50. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72° | 60° | 50° |
| April | 86° | 73° | 62° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 87° | 76° | 68° |
Flying in and out of 33549
Tampa International sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.1 million passengers in 2025, with 135 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 33549
Schools across 33549 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lutz Preparatory SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Oakstead Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Lutz K-8 SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Top middle schools
- Charles S. Rushe Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Liberty Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Buchanan Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Steinbrenner High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Sunlake High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Gaither High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 33549 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
33549 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 33549 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 33549
Is 33549 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 33549 ranks 9,022nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and fast internet, and lowest on car insurance costs and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 33549 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $430,488. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $97,878 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 33549 safe?
Yes, 33549 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $198 per resident a year.
Compare 33549 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 33549. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 33549 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.
33549 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 33549: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 33549: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 33549: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 33549: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
33549 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.