Best PlacesDeFuniak Springs, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around DeFuniak Springs, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
DeFuniak Springs ranks 39,299th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in DeFuniak Springs
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.
DeFuniak Springs' strengths and weaknesses
Where DeFuniak Springs ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 83% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 77% of towns
Where DeFuniak Springs ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in DeFuniak Springs
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median DeFuniak Springs home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,982, 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 DeFuniak Springs' effective rate of 0.40%, 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 DeFuniak Springs
DeFuniak Springs runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for DeFuniak Springs.
Who works in DeFuniak Springs, and how
Work in DeFuniak Springs centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in DeFuniak Springs
DeFuniak Springs has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of towns and more parkland per resident than 89% of towns. The coast is about 54 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of DeFuniak Springs and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in DeFuniak Springs, month by month
DeFuniak Springs sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 50° | 40° |
| April | 80° | 66° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of DeFuniak Springs
The nearest airport, Eglin AFB/Destin-Ft Walton Beach, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 224 miles away.
The best schools in and around DeFuniak Springs
Schools across DeFuniak Springs average an A−, better than 83% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mossy Head SchoolA · 67% proficient
- West Defuniak Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Maude Saunders Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Emerald Coast Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Freeport Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Walton Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- South Walton High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Walton Virtual FranchiseA− · 65% proficient
- Walton High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every DeFuniak Springs school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
DeFuniak Springs 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 DeFuniak Springs against the other 50,332 towns.
Who DeFuniak Springs suits
Common questions about living in DeFuniak Springs
Is DeFuniak Springs a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, DeFuniak Springs ranks 39,299th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and low property taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is DeFuniak Springs expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,856. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $56,982 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is DeFuniak Springs safe?
Yes, DeFuniak Springs is safer than 57% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $187 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in DeFuniak Springs?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 40. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of towns.
Is DeFuniak Springs good for families?
Schools beat 83% of towns, crime safety beats 57%, and childcare runs $852 a month.
Compare DeFuniak Springs with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to DeFuniak Springs. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in DeFuniak Springs 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.
DeFuniak Springs detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for DeFuniak Springs: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in DeFuniak Springs: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of DeFuniak Springs: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in DeFuniak Springs: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
DeFuniak Springs 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.