Best PlacesHatchbend, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hatchbend, 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.
Hatchbend ranks 35,699th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Hatchbend
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.
Hatchbend's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hatchbend ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 84% of towns
- QuietBetter than 79% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 118 pleasant days a year, better than 79% of towns
Where Hatchbend ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Hatchbend
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hatchbend home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,996, 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 Hatchbend'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 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 Hatchbend
Hatchbend runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hatchbend.
Who works in Hatchbend, and how
Work in Hatchbend centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hatchbend
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hatchbend.
What the weather is like in Hatchbend, month by month
Hatchbend sees roughly 118 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 Hatchbend
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hatchbend
Schools across Hatchbend average an A−, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Bell Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Lafayette Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- High Springs Community SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ruth Rains Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Bell High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Branford High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Dixie County High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hatchbend school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hatchbend 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 Hatchbend against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Hatchbend
Is Hatchbend a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hatchbend ranks 35,699th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and good schools, 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 Hatchbend expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $149,976. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $63,996 median income, cost of living beats 23% of towns.
Is Hatchbend safe?
Yes, Hatchbend is safer than 56% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
Compare Hatchbend with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hatchbend. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hatchbend 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.
Hatchbend detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hatchbend: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hatchbend: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hatchbend: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hatchbend: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hatchbend 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.