Best PlacesBaker County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Baker County, 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.
Baker County ranks 1,023rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Baker County
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.
Baker County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Baker County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 162 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 84% of counties
Where Baker County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of counties
- Short commute29.9 minutes each way, better than only 16% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 16% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 17% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Baker County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Baker County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,780, 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 Baker County's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Baker County
Baker County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Baker County.
Who works in Baker County, and how
Work in Baker County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Baker County
Baker County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 53 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Baker County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Baker County growing, and who is moving in?
Baker County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Jacksonville, FL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Baker County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Baker County, month by month
Baker County sees roughly 162 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| April | 82° | 69° | 56° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 72° |
| October | 85° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Baker County
Jacksonville International sits about 33 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2025, with 86 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Baker County
Schools across Baker County average a B+, better than 80% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Macclenny Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Westside Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- J Franklyn Keller Intermediate SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Baker County Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Baker County Senior High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Baker County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Baker County 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 Baker County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Baker County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of counties and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Baker County
Is Baker County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Baker County ranks 1,023rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on car insurance costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Baker County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,372. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $76,780 median income, cost of living beats 72% of counties.
Is Baker County safe?
Yes, Baker County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $172 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Baker County?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 42. That works out to about 162 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of counties.
Is Baker County good for families?
Schools beat 80% of counties, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $611 a month.
Compare Baker County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Baker County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Baker County 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.
Baker County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Baker County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Baker County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Baker County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Baker County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Baker County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.