Best PlacesGulf Breeze, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gulf Breeze, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gulf Breeze ranks 855th of 2,098 U.S. cities 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 Gulf Breeze
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.
Gulf Breeze's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gulf Breeze ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of cities
- QuietBetter than 96% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of cities
- School gradeA, better than 94% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of cities
Where Gulf Breeze ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 5% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Gulf Breeze
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gulf Breeze home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $106,541; 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 Gulf Breeze's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Gulf Breeze
Gulf Breeze runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gulf Breeze.
Who works in Gulf Breeze, and how
Work in Gulf Breeze 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 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Gulf Breeze
Gulf Breeze has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of cities and more parkland per resident than 88% of cities. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Gulf Breeze and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Gulf Breeze, month by month
Gulf Breeze sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 53° | 45° |
| April | 78° | 69° | 61° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 77° |
| October | 82° | 73° | 64° |
Flying in and out of Gulf Breeze
The nearest airport, Pensacola International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 192 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gulf Breeze
Schools across Gulf Breeze average an A, better than 94% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Pensacola Beach Elementary School IncA+ · 88% proficient
- Gulf Breeze Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- A. K. Suter Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gulf Breeze Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Woodlawn Beach Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Hobbs Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Gulf Breeze High SchoolA · 74% proficient
- Navarre High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Pensacola High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gulf Breeze school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gulf Breeze 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 Gulf Breeze against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Gulf Breeze suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 18% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 77% of cities, health care access beats 74%, and it is quieter than 96%.
Common questions about living in Gulf Breeze
Is Gulf Breeze a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gulf Breeze ranks 855th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state infrastructure, quiet, and low taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gulf Breeze expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $455,457. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $106,541 median income, cost of living beats 66% of cities.
Is Gulf Breeze safe?
Yes, Gulf Breeze is safer than 78% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $158 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Gulf Breeze?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 45. That works out to about 134 pleasant days a year, more than 77% of cities.
Is Gulf Breeze good for families?
Schools beat 94% of cities, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $921 a month.
Compare Gulf Breeze with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gulf Breeze. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gulf Breeze 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.
Gulf Breeze detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gulf Breeze: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gulf Breeze: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gulf Breeze: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gulf Breeze: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gulf Breeze 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.