Best Places34238, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 34238, 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.
34238 ranks 1,868th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 34238
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.
34238's strengths and weaknesses
Where 34238 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 34238 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 34238
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 34238 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,335, 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 34238'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 34238
34238 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 34238.
Who works in 34238, and how
Work in 34238 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 34238
The coast is about 10 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 34238, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 34238, month by month
34238 sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 72, with lows near 56. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72° | 63° | 56° |
| April | 82° | 75° | 67° |
| July | 91° | 84° | 78° |
| October | 87° | 79° | 72° |
Flying in and out of 34238
The nearest airport, Sarasota/Bradenton International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around 34238
Schools across 34238 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ashton Elementary SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Laurel Nokomis SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Imagine School At Palmer RanchA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sarasota Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Brookside Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Venice Senior High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Riverview High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 34238 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
34238 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 34238 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 34238 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of zip codes and health care access beats 98%.
Common questions about living in 34238
Is 34238 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 34238 ranks 1,868th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, health care access, and state infrastructure, and lowest on summer heat and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 34238 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $558,728. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $100,335 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 34238 safe?
Yes, 34238 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $75 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 34238?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 72 with lows near 56. That works out to about 160 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of zip codes.
Is 34238 good for families?
Schools beat 96% of zip codes, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $945 a month.
Compare 34238 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 34238. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 34238 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.
34238 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 34238: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 34238: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 34238: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 34238: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
34238 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.