Best PlacesSouth Bay, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Bay, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Bay ranks 48,084th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Bay
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.
South Bay's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Bay ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- TransitBetter than 96% of towns
- BikingBetter than 94% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of towns
Where South Bay ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Bay
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Bay home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,892, 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 South Bay's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Bay
South Bay 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 South Bay.
Who works in South Bay, and how
Work in South Bay centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in South Bay
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Bay.
What the weather is like in South Bay, month by month
South Bay sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 78, with lows near 57. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 78° | 67° | 57° |
| April | 85° | 76° | 68° |
| July | 92° | 84° | 77° |
| October | 87° | 80° | 73° |
Flying in and out of South Bay
Palm Beach International sits about 38 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Bay
Schools across South Bay average a C−, better than 19% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Eastside Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Nova Blanche Forman ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Village Oaks Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nova Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Clewiston Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Immokalee Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Clewiston High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Immokalee High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Glades Central High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Bay school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Bay 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 South Bay against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Bay
Is South Bay a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Bay ranks 48,084th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and transit, and lowest on education levels and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Bay expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $130,848. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $52,892 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is South Bay safe?
South Bay is safer than 7% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $396 per resident a year.
Compare South Bay with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Bay. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Bay 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.
South Bay detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Bay: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Bay: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Bay: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Bay: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Bay 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.