Best PlacesOkaloosa County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Okaloosa 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.
Okaloosa County ranks 727th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $89,893, everyday costs sit below the national average, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are disaster risk, car insurance costs, and summer heat.
The best neighborhoods in Okaloosa 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 Okaloosa County
The parts of Okaloosa 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.
Niceville
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Destin
More homes sit empty and prices have run up more.
Lake Lorraine, Eglin AFB & Shalimar
Fewer households have young kids and tree cover is thinner.
Baker
Commutes are longer and biking is worse.
Crestview
Homes cost less and crime runs lower.
Wright, Fort Walton Beach & Mary Esther
Fewer residents vote and schools score lower.
Okaloosa County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 14% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Okaloosa County's strengths and weaknesses
Okaloosa 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. Low taxes and low crime follow.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. Car insurance costs and summer heat also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Okaloosa County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of counties
Where Okaloosa County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of counties
- Cheap childcare$924 a month, better than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Okaloosa County
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Okaloosa County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $89,893; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Okaloosa County's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 Okaloosa County
Okaloosa 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 Okaloosa County.
Who works in Okaloosa County, and how
Work in Okaloosa 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 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Okaloosa County
Okaloosa County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 78% of counties. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Okaloosa County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Okaloosa County growing, and who is moving in?
Okaloosa County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Pensacola, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Okaloosa County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Okaloosa County, month by month
Okaloosa County sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 53° | 44° |
| April | 76° | 68° | 58° |
| July | 90° | 83° | 75° |
| October | 81° | 71° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Okaloosa County
The nearest airport, Eglin AFB/Destin-Ft Walton Beach, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 224 miles away.
The best schools in and around Okaloosa County
Schools across Okaloosa County average an A−, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bluewater Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Liza Jackson Preparatory SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- James E Plew Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Okaloosa Stemm CenterA+ · 97% proficient
- C. W. Ruckel Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Destin Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Collegiate High School At Northwest Florida State CollegeA · 79% proficient
- Niceville Senior High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- Fort Walton Beach High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Okaloosa County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Okaloosa 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 Okaloosa County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Okaloosa County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Okaloosa County
Is Okaloosa County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Okaloosa County ranks 727th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and low crime, and lowest on disaster risk and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Okaloosa County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $377,577. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $89,893 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Okaloosa County safe?
Yes, Okaloosa County is safer than 91% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $163 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Okaloosa County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 44. That works out to about 102 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Okaloosa County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Niceville, Destin, and Lake Lorraine, Eglin AFB & Shalimar. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Okaloosa County good for families?
Schools beat 90% of counties, crime safety beats 91%, and childcare runs $924 a month.
Is Okaloosa County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 91% of counties. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Okaloosa County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Okaloosa County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Okaloosa 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.
Okaloosa County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Okaloosa County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Okaloosa County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Okaloosa County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Okaloosa County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Okaloosa 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.