Best PlacesGilchrist County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gilchrist County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gilchrist County ranks 1,627th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Gilchrist 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.
Gilchrist County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gilchrist County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- QuietBetter than 93% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of counties
- Cheap childcare$551 a month, better than 83% of counties
Where Gilchrist County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 8% of counties
- Short commute31.6 minutes each way, better than only 10% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gilchrist County
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gilchrist County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,985, 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 Gilchrist County's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 Gilchrist County
Gilchrist County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gilchrist County.
Who works in Gilchrist County, and how
Work in Gilchrist County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Gilchrist County
Gilchrist County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Gilchrist County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gilchrist County growing, and who is moving in?
Gilchrist County has grown about 19% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Gainesville, FL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gilchrist County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gilchrist County, month by month
Gilchrist County sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 53° | 41° |
| April | 83° | 69° | 56° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 86° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Gilchrist County
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gilchrist County
Schools across Gilchrist County average an A−, better than 92% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bell Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Trenton Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- High Springs Community SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oak View Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Trenton High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Gilchrist Virtual FranchiseA− · 65% proficient
- Bell High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gilchrist County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gilchrist 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 Gilchrist County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Gilchrist County
Is Gilchrist County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gilchrist County ranks 1,627th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on summer heat and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gilchrist County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $221,408. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $66,985 median income, cost of living beats 32% of counties.
Is Gilchrist County safe?
Yes, Gilchrist County is safer than 72% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
Compare Gilchrist County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gilchrist County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gilchrist 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.
Gilchrist County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gilchrist County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gilchrist County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gilchrist County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gilchrist County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gilchrist 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.