Best Places33971, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 33971, 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.
33971 ranks 22,532nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 33971
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.
33971's strengths and weaknesses
Where 33971 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 33971 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute35.9 minutes each way, better than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 33971
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 33971 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $77,422; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 33971's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 33971
33971 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 33971.
Who works in 33971, and how
Work in 33971 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 33971
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 33971, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 33971, month by month
33971 sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 76, with lows near 53. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| April | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 75° |
| October | 88° | 78° | 70° |
Flying in and out of 33971
Southwest Florida International sits about 7 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 103 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 33971
Schools across 33971 average a C+, better than 41% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tortuga Preserve Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Sunshine Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Varsity Lakes Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Harns Marsh Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Lehigh Senior High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Dunbar High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Palm Acres Charter High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 33971 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
33971 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 33971 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 33971 suits
Families
Schools land around the 41st percentile and crime safety beats 60%.
Common questions about living in 33971
Is 33971 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 33971 ranks 22,532nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, a strong job market, and low taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 33971 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $309,161. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $77,422 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 33971 safe?
Yes, 33971 is safer than 60% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 33971?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 76 with lows near 53. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of zip codes.
Is 33971 good for families?
Schools beat 41% of zip codes, crime safety beats 60%, and childcare runs $820 a month.
Compare 33971 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 33971. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 33971 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.
33971 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 33971: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 33971: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 33971: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 33971: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
33971 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.