Best Places34445, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 34445, 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.
34445 ranks 16,419th 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 34445
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.
34445's strengths and weaknesses
Where 34445 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 138 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 34445 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 34445
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 34445 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,103, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 34445's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 34445
34445 runs older 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 34445.
Who works in 34445, and how
Work in 34445 centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 34445
The coast is about 36 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 34445, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 34445, month by month
34445 sees roughly 138 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 73° | 65° |
Flying in and out of 34445
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around 34445
Schools across 34445 average a B, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central Ridge Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Citrus Springs Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Lecanto High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 34445 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
34445 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 34445 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 34445
Is 34445 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 34445 ranks 16,419th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, a strong job market, and low taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 34445 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,451. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $72,103 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 34445 safe?
Yes, 34445 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $143 per resident a year.
Compare 34445 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 34445. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 34445 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.
34445 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 34445: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 34445: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 34445: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 34445: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
34445 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.