Best PlacesHolmes County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Holmes County, 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.
Holmes County ranks 2,982nd of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Holmes 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.
Holmes County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Holmes County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 94% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 125 pleasant days a year, better than 78% of counties
Where Holmes County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of counties
- Short commute34.7 minutes each way, better than only 4% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 5% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Holmes County
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Holmes County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,822, 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 Holmes 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Holmes County
Holmes County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Holmes County.
Who works in Holmes County, and how
Work in Holmes County 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 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Holmes County
Holmes County has more parkland per resident than 82% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Holmes County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Holmes County growing, and who is moving in?
Holmes County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Panama City, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Holmes County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Holmes County, month by month
Holmes County sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 51° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 56° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Holmes County
The nearest airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 208 miles away.
The best schools in and around Holmes County
Schools across Holmes County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bonifay K-8 SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Ponce De Leon Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mowat Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Geneva Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Holmes County High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Ponce De Leon High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Graduation Assistance ProgramD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Holmes County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Holmes 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 Holmes County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Holmes County
Is Holmes County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Holmes County ranks 2,982nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on disaster risk and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Holmes County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,277. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $49,822 median income, cost of living beats 5% of counties.
Is Holmes County safe?
Holmes County is safer than 55% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare Holmes County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Holmes County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Holmes 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.
Holmes County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Holmes County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Holmes County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Holmes County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Holmes County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Holmes 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.