Best PlacesCitrus County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Citrus County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Citrus County ranks 2,161st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 37 minutes away. Its strengths are state infrastructure and low taxes. The cost shows up in disaster risk, summer heat, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Citrus 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.
The best areas in Citrus County
The parts of Citrus County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Beverly Hills, Citrus Hills & Lecanto
Fewer homes sit empty, more adults hold degrees, and commutes are shorter.
Citrus Springs
More households have young kids and heat risk is lower.
Crystal River
Local pay stretches further, though homes cost more.
Hernando & Inverness Highlands North
Scores close to Crystal River, except that prices have run up less here.
Homosassa Springs, Sugarmill Woods & Homosassa
Scores close to Hernando & Inverness Highlands North, except that crime runs higher here.
Inverness, Floral City & Inverness Highlands South
Tree cover is thicker.
Dunnellon
Incomes run lower and biking is worse.
Scores across Citrus County run from about the 4th to the 83rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Citrus County's strengths and weaknesses
Citrus County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State infrastructure is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Low taxes and low crime follow.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. Summer heat and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Citrus County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 147 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of counties
Where Citrus County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Citrus County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Citrus County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $60,184; 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 Citrus County's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Citrus County
Citrus County 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 Citrus County.
Who works in Citrus County, and how
Work in Citrus County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Citrus County
Citrus County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less late-night activity than most counties. The coast is about 37 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Citrus County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Citrus County growing, and who is moving in?
Citrus County has grown about 23% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Tampa, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Citrus County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Citrus County, month by month
Citrus County sees roughly 147 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 Citrus County
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Citrus County
Schools across Citrus County average a B+, better than 79% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Crusher Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Pleasant Grove Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Homosassa Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Citrus Springs Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Lecanto Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Inverness Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Camp E-nini HasseeA · 75% proficient
- Lecanto High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Academy Of Environmental ScienceB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Citrus County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Citrus 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 Citrus County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Citrus County suits
Retirees
The weather beats 91% of counties and health care access beats 76%.
Common questions about living in Citrus County
Is Citrus County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Citrus County ranks 2,161st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and low crime, 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 Citrus County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $260,869. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $60,184 median income, cost of living beats 24% of counties.
Is Citrus County safe?
Yes, Citrus County is safer than 93% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $155 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Citrus County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 46. That works out to about 147 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Citrus County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Beverly Hills, Citrus Hills & Lecanto, Citrus Springs, and Crystal River. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Citrus County good for families?
Schools beat 79% of counties, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $715 a month.
Is Citrus County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 24% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 37% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Citrus County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Citrus County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Citrus 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.
Citrus County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Citrus County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Citrus County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Citrus County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Citrus County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Citrus 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.