Best PlacesSuwannee Valley, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Suwannee Valley, 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.
Suwannee Valley ranks 41,754th 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 Suwannee Valley
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.
Suwannee Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Suwannee Valley ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 78% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 109 pleasant days a year, better than 74% of towns
Where Suwannee Valley ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 7% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Suwannee Valley
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Suwannee Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,255, 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 Suwannee Valley's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 Suwannee Valley
Suwannee Valley's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Suwannee Valley.
Who works in Suwannee Valley, and how
Work in Suwannee Valley 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 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Suwannee Valley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Suwannee Valley.
What the weather is like in Suwannee Valley, month by month
Suwannee Valley sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 52° | 39° |
| April | 83° | 68° | 53° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 85° | 70° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Suwannee Valley
The nearest airport, Valdosta Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Suwannee Valley
Schools across Suwannee Valley average a B, better than 64% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Pinemount Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Five Points Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richardson Sixth Grade AcademyA− · 57% proficient
- Lake City Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Columbia High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Hamilton County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Suwannee Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Suwannee Valley 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 Suwannee Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Suwannee Valley
Is Suwannee Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Suwannee Valley ranks 41,754th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and fast internet, and lowest on summer heat and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Suwannee Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,141. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $55,255 median income, cost of living beats 10% of towns.
Is Suwannee Valley safe?
Yes, Suwannee Valley is safer than 69% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $170 per resident a year.
Compare Suwannee Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Suwannee Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Suwannee Valley 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.
Suwannee Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Suwannee Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Suwannee Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Suwannee Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Suwannee Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Suwannee Valley 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.