Best PlacesRedbay, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Redbay, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Redbay ranks 40,669th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Redbay
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.
Redbay's strengths and weaknesses
Where Redbay ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of towns
- QuietBetter than 88% of towns
Where Redbay ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Short commute41.1 minutes each way, better than only 4% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Redbay
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Redbay home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,166, 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 Redbay's effective rate of 0.37%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Redbay
Redbay runs older 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 Redbay.
Who works in Redbay, and how
Work in Redbay centers on admin & support services and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Redbay
The coast is about 48 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Redbay, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Redbay, month by month
Redbay sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 56° |
| July | 91° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 71° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Redbay
The nearest airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 229 miles away.
The best schools in and around Redbay
Schools across Redbay average an A−, better than 87% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Dune Lakes Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Mossy Head SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Vernon Elementary SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Emerald Coast Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Freeport Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Vernon Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- South Walton High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Walton High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Vernon High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Redbay school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Redbay 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 Redbay against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Redbay
Is Redbay a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Redbay ranks 40,669th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, civic engagement, and low taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Redbay expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,114. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $64,166 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is Redbay safe?
Yes, Redbay is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $152 per resident a year.
Compare Redbay with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Redbay. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Redbay 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.
Redbay detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Redbay: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Redbay: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Redbay: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Redbay: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Redbay 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.