Best PlacesSouthwood, Jacksonville, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southwood, Jacksonville, 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.
Southwood, Jacksonville ranks 5,083rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Southwood, Jacksonville
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.
Southwood, Jacksonville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Southwood, Jacksonville ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Southwood, Jacksonville ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Household income$39,481 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southwood, Jacksonville
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southwood, Jacksonville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $39,481, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Southwood, Jacksonville's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 Southwood, Jacksonville
Southwood, Jacksonville 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 Southwood, Jacksonville.
Who works in Southwood, Jacksonville, and how
Work in Southwood, Jacksonville centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Southwood, Jacksonville
The coast is about 19 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Southwood, Jacksonville, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Southwood, Jacksonville, month by month
Southwood, Jacksonville sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 57° | 46° |
| April | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 75° | 67° |
Flying in and out of Southwood, Jacksonville
Jacksonville International sits about 22 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2025, with 86 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Southwood, Jacksonville
Schools across Southwood, Jacksonville average a B−, better than 64% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Grasp AcademyD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mandarin Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Mandarin High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southwood, Jacksonville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southwood, Jacksonville 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 Southwood, Jacksonville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Southwood, Jacksonville
Is Southwood, Jacksonville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southwood, Jacksonville ranks 5,083rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and low crime, and lowest on noise and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southwood, Jacksonville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $230,107. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $39,481 median income, cost of living beats 14% of neighborhoods.
Is Southwood, Jacksonville safe?
Yes, Southwood, Jacksonville is safer than 90% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $156 per resident a year.
Compare Southwood, Jacksonville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southwood, Jacksonville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southwood, Jacksonville 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.
Southwood, Jacksonville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southwood, Jacksonville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southwood, Jacksonville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southwood, Jacksonville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southwood, Jacksonville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southwood, Jacksonville 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.