Best PlacesGulf County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gulf County, 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.
Gulf County ranks 2,593rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Gulf 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.
Gulf County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gulf County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of counties
- QuietBetter than 79% of counties
Where Gulf County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gulf County
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gulf County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $61,784; 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 County's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 County
Gulf 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 Gulf County.
Who works in Gulf County, and how
Work in Gulf County centers on construction 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 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Gulf County
Gulf County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of counties. The coast is about 18 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Gulf County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gulf County growing, and who is moving in?
Gulf County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Panama City, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gulf County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gulf County, month by month
Gulf County sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 47. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 55° | 47° |
| April | 78° | 69° | 60° |
| July | 90° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 83° | 73° | 64° |
Flying in and out of Gulf County
The nearest airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 214 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gulf County
Schools across Gulf County average a B, better than 73% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Port St. Joe Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Wewahitchka Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Wewahitchka High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Port St. Joe High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gulf County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gulf 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 Gulf County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Gulf County
Is Gulf County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gulf County ranks 2,593rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, state infrastructure, and low taxes, 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 Gulf County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $271,242. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $61,784 median income, cost of living beats 18% of counties.
Is Gulf County safe?
Gulf County is safer than 42% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $276 per resident a year.
Compare Gulf County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gulf County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gulf 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.
Gulf County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gulf County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gulf County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gulf County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gulf County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gulf 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.