Best PlacesMacclenny, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Macclenny, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Macclenny ranks 13,046th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Macclenny
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.
Macclenny's strengths and weaknesses
Where Macclenny ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 163 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of towns
- BikingBetter than 80% of towns
Where Macclenny ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 20% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 23% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Macclenny
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Macclenny home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,085, 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 Macclenny's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Macclenny
Macclenny runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Macclenny.
Who works in Macclenny, and how
Work in Macclenny centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Macclenny
Macclenny has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of towns and more parkland per resident than 86% of towns. The coast is about 47 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Macclenny and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Macclenny, month by month
Macclenny sees roughly 163 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| April | 82° | 69° | 56° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 72° |
| October | 85° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Macclenny
Jacksonville International sits about 30 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 Macclenny
Schools across Macclenny average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Macclenny Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- J Franklyn Keller Intermediate SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Mamie Agnes Jones Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Baker County Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Baker County Senior High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Baldwin Middle-senior High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Macclenny school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Macclenny 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 Macclenny against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Macclenny
Is Macclenny a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Macclenny ranks 13,046th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and the weather, and lowest on car insurance costs and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Macclenny expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,538. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $82,085 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is Macclenny safe?
Yes, Macclenny is safer than 59% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $202 per resident a year.
Compare Macclenny with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Macclenny. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Macclenny 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.
Macclenny detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Macclenny: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Macclenny: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Macclenny: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Macclenny: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Macclenny 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.