Best PlacesRiver Ranch, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around River Ranch, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
River Ranch ranks 38,314th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in River Ranch
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.
River Ranch's strengths and weaknesses
Where River Ranch ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- QuietBetter than 83% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 82% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of towns
Where River Ranch ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in River Ranch
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median River Ranch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,841, 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 River Ranch's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in River Ranch
River Ranch 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 River Ranch.
Who works in River Ranch, and how
Work in River Ranch centers on public administration and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in River Ranch
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across River Ranch.
What the weather is like in River Ranch, month by month
River Ranch sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| April | 87° | 74° | 63° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 87° | 76° | 69° |
Flying in and out of River Ranch
The nearest airport, Melbourne Orlando International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Orlando International, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around River Ranch
Schools across River Ranch average a B−, better than 58% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Harmony Community SchoolA · 65% proficient
- St. Cloud Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Park Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Cloud Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Avon Park Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Mclaughlin Academy Of ExcellenceC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Harmony High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Sebring High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Bartow Senior High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every River Ranch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
River Ranch 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 River Ranch against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in River Ranch
Is River Ranch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, River Ranch ranks 38,314th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and quiet, 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 River Ranch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,113. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $79,841 median income, cost of living beats 57% of towns.
Is River Ranch safe?
River Ranch is safer than 34% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $233 per resident a year.
Compare River Ranch with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to River Ranch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in River Ranch 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.
River Ranch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for River Ranch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in River Ranch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of River Ranch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in River Ranch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
River Ranch 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.