Best PlacesHillsborough County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hillsborough County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hillsborough County ranks 644th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $90,073, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are car insurance costs, summer heat, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Hillsborough 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.
The best areas in Hillsborough County
The parts of Hillsborough County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Riverview & Brandon
More households have young kids, crime runs lower, and local pay stretches further.
Town 'n' Country, Egypt Lake-Leto & Westchase
Incomes run higher and more adults hold degrees.
Ruskin, Apollo Beach & Gibsonton
More residents vote, though streets are more car-dependent.
Plant City & Thonotosassa
Biking is worse and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Seffner, East Lake-Orient Park & Dover
Homes cost less.
Tampa & University
Prices have run up more and health care is harder to reach.
Hillsborough County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Hillsborough County's strengths and weaknesses
Hillsborough County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. State infrastructure is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Fast internet and low taxes follow.
The one real hole is car insurance costs, near the bottom of the country. Summer heat and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Hillsborough County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of counties
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
Where Hillsborough County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hillsborough County
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hillsborough County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,073, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Hillsborough County's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hillsborough County.
Who works in Hillsborough County, and how
Work in Hillsborough County 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 75%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Hillsborough County
The coast is about 14 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Hillsborough County, which the map shows.
Is Hillsborough County growing, and who is moving in?
Hillsborough County has grown about 19% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Tampa, FL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hillsborough County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hillsborough County, month by month
Hillsborough County sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 72, with lows near 50. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72° | 60° | 50° |
| April | 86° | 73° | 62° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 87° | 76° | 68° |
Flying in and out of Hillsborough County
Tampa International sits about 8 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.1 million passengers in 2025, with 135 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Hillsborough County
Schools across Hillsborough County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lutz Preparatory SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Bevis Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
Top middle schools
- Terrace Community Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Coleman Middle SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Randall Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
Top high schools
- Plant High SchoolA · 74% proficient
- Newsome High SchoolA · 74% proficient
- Steinbrenner High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hillsborough County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hillsborough County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hillsborough County
Is Hillsborough County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hillsborough County ranks 644th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, fast internet, and low taxes, and lowest on car insurance costs and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hillsborough County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $398,201. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $90,073 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Hillsborough County safe?
Yes, Hillsborough County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hillsborough County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 72 with lows near 50. That works out to about 123 pleasant days a year, more than 77% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hillsborough County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Riverview & Brandon, Town 'n' Country, Egypt Lake-Leto & Westchase, and Ruskin, Apollo Beach & Gibsonton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hillsborough County good for families?
Schools beat 76% of counties, crime safety beats 60%, and childcare runs $973 a month.
Is Hillsborough County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hillsborough County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hillsborough County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hillsborough 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.
Hillsborough County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hillsborough County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hillsborough County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hillsborough County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hillsborough County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hillsborough 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.