Best PlacesFlorida Ridge, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Florida Ridge, 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.
Florida Ridge ranks 26,598th 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 Florida Ridge
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.
Florida Ridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Florida Ridge ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of towns
- BikingBetter than 88% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of towns
Where Florida Ridge ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Florida Ridge
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Florida Ridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $70,184; 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 Florida Ridge's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Florida Ridge
Florida Ridge runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Florida Ridge.
Who works in Florida Ridge, and how
Work in Florida Ridge centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Florida Ridge
The coast is about 10 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Florida Ridge, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Florida Ridge, month by month
Florida Ridge sees roughly 106 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 75, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 75° | 63° | 52° |
| April | 84° | 74° | 62° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 87° | 78° | 70° |
Flying in and out of Florida Ridge
The nearest airport, Vero Beach Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Palm Beach International, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around Florida Ridge
Schools across Florida Ridge average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Osceola Magnet SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Indian River AcademyB+ · 53% proficient
- Beachland Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gifford Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Oslo Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Vero Beach High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Florida Ridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Florida Ridge 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 Florida Ridge against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Florida Ridge suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Florida Ridge
Is Florida Ridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Florida Ridge ranks 26,598th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and fast internet, 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 Florida Ridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $291,775. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $70,184 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is Florida Ridge safe?
Yes, Florida Ridge is safer than 87% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $132 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Florida Ridge?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 75 with lows near 52. That works out to about 106 pleasant days a year, more than 72% of towns.
Is Florida Ridge good for families?
Schools beat 62% of towns, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $796 a month.
Compare Florida Ridge with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Florida Ridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Florida Ridge 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.
Florida Ridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Florida Ridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Florida Ridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Florida Ridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Florida Ridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Florida Ridge 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.