Best Places34661, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 34661, 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.
34661 ranks 22,413th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 34661
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.
34661's strengths and weaknesses
Where 34661 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 34661 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Short commute39.3 minutes each way, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Household income$53,431 median, better than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 34661
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 34661 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $53,431; 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 34661's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 34661
34661 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 34661.
Who works in 34661, and how
Work in 34661 centers on construction and admin & support services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 34661
The coast is about 44 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 34661, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 34661, month by month
34661 sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 45° |
| April | 83° | 70° | 58° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 84° | 73° | 64° |
Flying in and out of 34661
Tampa International sits about 49 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 34661
Schools across 34661 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brooksville Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Eastside Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- D. S. Parrott Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Hernando High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- South Sumter High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 34661 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
34661 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 34661 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 34661
Is 34661 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 34661 ranks 22,413th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low crime, and low taxes, 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 34661 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $219,358. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $53,431 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 34661 safe?
Yes, 34661 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $103 per resident a year.
Compare 34661 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 34661. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 34661 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.
34661 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 34661: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 34661: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 34661: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 34661: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
34661 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.