Best PlacesHillcrest, Jacksonville, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hillcrest, Jacksonville, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hillcrest, Jacksonville ranks 4,840th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hillcrest, Jacksonville
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.
Hillcrest, Jacksonville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hillcrest, Jacksonville ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Hillcrest, Jacksonville ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Hillcrest, Jacksonville
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hillcrest, Jacksonville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,034, 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 Hillcrest, Jacksonville's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hillcrest, Jacksonville
Hillcrest, Jacksonville runs younger 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 Hillcrest, Jacksonville.
Who works in Hillcrest, Jacksonville, and how
Work in Hillcrest, Jacksonville centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Hillcrest, Jacksonville
The coast is about 25 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Hillcrest, Jacksonville, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hillcrest, Jacksonville, month by month
Hillcrest, Jacksonville sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 57° | 46° |
| April | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 75° | 67° |
Flying in and out of Hillcrest, Jacksonville
Jacksonville International sits about 14 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2025, with 86 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Hillcrest, Jacksonville
Schools across Hillcrest, Jacksonville average a C, better than 32% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Wayman Academy Of The ArtsC+ · 38% proficient
- Hyde Park Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Grasp AcademyD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joseph Stilwell Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hillcrest, Jacksonville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hillcrest, Jacksonville 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 Hillcrest, Jacksonville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Hillcrest, Jacksonville
Is Hillcrest, Jacksonville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hillcrest, Jacksonville ranks 4,840th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on car insurance costs and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hillcrest, Jacksonville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,508. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $52,034 median income, cost of living beats 29% of neighborhoods.
Is Hillcrest, Jacksonville safe?
Hillcrest, Jacksonville is safer than 29% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $432 per resident a year.
Compare Hillcrest, Jacksonville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hillcrest, Jacksonville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hillcrest, Jacksonville 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.
Hillcrest, Jacksonville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hillcrest, Jacksonville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hillcrest, Jacksonville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hillcrest, Jacksonville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hillcrest, Jacksonville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hillcrest, Jacksonville 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.