Best PlacesPasco County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pasco County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Pasco County ranks 1,097th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Its strengths are state infrastructure and fast internet. The cost shows up in summer heat, disaster risk, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in Pasco 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 Pasco County
The parts of Pasco 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.
Land O' Lakes, Wesley Chapel & New Port Richey
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and fewer homes sit empty.
Zephyrhills South
More households have young kids and more adults hold degrees.
Zephyrhills
Tree cover is thinner.
Dade City
Heat risk is lower, though advertised internet is slower.
Hudson & Shady Hills
Schools score lower and health outcomes score lower.
Holiday & Elfers
Homes cost less, though crime runs higher.
Jasmine Estates, New Port Richey East & Port Richey
Streets are more walkable, though fewer residents vote.
Bayonet Point
Prices have run up more and it is noisier.
Pasco County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 5%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Pasco County's strengths and weaknesses
Pasco County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State infrastructure is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Fast internet and a strong job market follow.
The one real hole is summer heat, near the bottom of the country. Disaster risk and car insurance costs also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Pasco County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 95% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of counties
Where Pasco County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Short commute31.1 minutes each way, better than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pasco County
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pasco County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $80,656; 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 Pasco County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Pasco County
Pasco County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pasco County.
Who works in Pasco County, and how
Work in Pasco 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 77%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Pasco County
Pasco County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pasco County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pasco County growing, and who is moving in?
Pasco County has grown about 36% 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 Pasco County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pasco County, month by month
Pasco County sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 58° | 45° |
| April | 86° | 72° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 88° | 74° | 63° |
Flying in and out of Pasco County
Tampa International sits about 20 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 Pasco County
Schools across Pasco County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Southside Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Countryside Montessori AcademyA+ · 76% proficient
- Oakstead Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dr. John Long Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Seven Springs Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Charles S. Rushe Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Pasco Eschool-virtual FranchiseA · 70% proficient
- Wiregrass Ranch High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Sunlake High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pasco County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pasco 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 Pasco County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pasco County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Pasco County
Is Pasco County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pasco County ranks 1,097th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, fast internet, and a strong job market, and lowest on summer heat and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pasco County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $314,013. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $80,656 median income, cost of living beats 79% of counties.
Is Pasco County safe?
Yes, Pasco County is safer than 94% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $148 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pasco County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 73 with lows near 45. That works out to about 126 pleasant days a year, more than 79% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Pasco County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Land O' Lakes, Wesley Chapel & New Port Richey, Zephyrhills South, and Zephyrhills. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Pasco County good for families?
Schools beat 78% of counties, crime safety beats 94%, and childcare runs $900 a month.
Is Pasco County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Pasco County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pasco County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pasco 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.
Pasco County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pasco County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pasco County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pasco County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pasco County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pasco 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.