Best PlacesGulf Hammock, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gulf Hammock, 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 Hammock ranks 42,183rd 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 Gulf Hammock
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 Hammock's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gulf Hammock ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- QuietBetter than 88% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 133 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of towns
Where Gulf Hammock ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Gulf Hammock
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gulf Hammock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $54,143; 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 Hammock's effective rate of 0.79%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Gulf Hammock
Gulf Hammock 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 Hammock.
Who works in Gulf Hammock, and how
Work in Gulf Hammock centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in Gulf Hammock
The coast is about 45 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Gulf Hammock, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Gulf Hammock, month by month
Gulf Hammock sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 73° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Gulf Hammock
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gulf Hammock
Schools across Gulf Hammock average a B−, better than 56% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Chiefland Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Williston Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Romeo Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dunnellon Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- North Marion Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Chiefland Middle High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Williston Middle High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Dunnellon High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gulf Hammock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gulf Hammock 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 Hammock against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Gulf Hammock
Is Gulf Hammock a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gulf Hammock ranks 42,183rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and tree cover, 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 Hammock expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $214,187. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $54,143 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is Gulf Hammock safe?
Gulf Hammock is safer than 36% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $226 per resident a year.
Compare Gulf Hammock with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gulf Hammock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gulf Hammock 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 Hammock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gulf Hammock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gulf Hammock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gulf Hammock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gulf Hammock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gulf Hammock 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.