Best PlacesJacksonville, AL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around 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.
Jacksonville ranks 30,743rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 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.
Jacksonville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jacksonville ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of towns
- Cheap childcare$553 a month, better than 86% of towns
Where Jacksonville ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 15% of towns
- Household income$53,282 median, better than only 16% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jacksonville
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jacksonville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,282, 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 Jacksonville's effective rate of 0.33%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jacksonville
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 Jacksonville.
Who works in Jacksonville, and how
Work in Jacksonville centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Jacksonville
Jacksonville has more parkland per resident than 82% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Jacksonville and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Jacksonville, month by month
Jacksonville sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Jacksonville
The nearest airport, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jacksonville
Schools across Jacksonville average a C+, better than 52% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- White Plains Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Kitty Stone Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Alexandria Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- White Plains Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Jacksonville High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Pleasant Valley High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Weaver High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jacksonville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Jacksonville against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Jacksonville suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Jacksonville
Is Jacksonville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jacksonville ranks 30,743rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, state infrastructure, and walkability, and lowest on civic engagement and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jacksonville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $161,010. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $53,282 median income, cost of living beats 23% of towns.
Is Jacksonville safe?
Jacksonville is safer than 34% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $343 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jacksonville?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 36. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of towns.
Is Jacksonville good for families?
Schools beat 52% of towns, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $553 a month.
Compare Jacksonville with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jacksonville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Jacksonville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jacksonville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jacksonville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jacksonville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jacksonville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.