Best Places34996, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 34996, 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.
34996 ranks 11,835th 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 34996
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.
34996's strengths and weaknesses
Where 34996 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 34996 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 34996
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 34996 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,612, 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 34996's effective rate of 0.69%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 34996
34996 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 34996.
Who works in 34996, and how
Work in 34996 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 34996
34996 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 34996 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 34996, month by month
34996 sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 58. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 66° | 58° |
| April | 83° | 76° | 69° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 77° |
| October | 85° | 79° | 74° |
Flying in and out of 34996
The nearest airport, Vero Beach Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Palm Beach International, about 36 miles away.
The best schools in and around 34996
Schools across 34996 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Felix A Williams Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Hobe Sound Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- J. D. Parker School Of TechnologyC+ · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stuart Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Dr. David L. Anderson Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Murray Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Jensen Beach High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Martin County High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- South Fork High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 34996 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
34996 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 34996 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 34996
Is 34996 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 34996 ranks 11,835th 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 34996 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $593,910. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $85,612 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 34996 safe?
Yes, 34996 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $96 per resident a year.
Compare 34996 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 34996. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 34996 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.
34996 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 34996: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 34996: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 34996: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 34996: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
34996 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.