Best Places34974, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 34974, 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.
34974 ranks 26,408th 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 34974
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.
34974's strengths and weaknesses
Where 34974 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 34974 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 34974
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 34974 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,526, 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 34974's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 34974
34974 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 34974.
Who works in 34974, and how
Work in 34974 centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 34974
The coast is about 49 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 34974, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 34974, month by month
34974 sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 61° | 52° |
| April | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 85° | 75° | 68° |
Flying in and out of 34974
The nearest airport, Vero Beach Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Palm Beach International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around 34974
Schools across 34974 average a B, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Country Elementary SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Seminole Elementary SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Everglades Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Osceola Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Yearling Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Lake Placid Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- South Fork High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Okeechobee High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Lake Placid High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 34974 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
34974 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 34974 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 34974 suits
Common questions about living in 34974
Is 34974 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 34974 ranks 26,408th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and the weather, 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 34974 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,554. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $56,526 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 34974 safe?
34974 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 34974?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 73 with lows near 52. That works out to about 131 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of zip codes.
Is 34974 good for families?
Schools beat 60% of zip codes, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $712 a month.
Compare 34974 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 34974. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 34974 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.
34974 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 34974: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 34974: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 34974: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 34974: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
34974 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.