Best PlacesTarpon Springs, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Tarpon Springs, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Tarpon Springs ranks 1,039th of 2,098 U.S. cities 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 Tarpon Springs
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.
Tarpon Springs' strengths and weaknesses
Where Tarpon Springs ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of cities
- QuietBetter than 92% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of cities
Where Tarpon Springs ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Tarpon Springs
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tarpon Springs home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $84,190, 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 Tarpon Springs' effective rate of 0.81%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Tarpon Springs
Tarpon Springs 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 Tarpon Springs.
Who works in Tarpon Springs, and how
Work in Tarpon Springs centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Tarpon Springs
Tarpon Springs has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of cities and more parkland per resident than 93% of cities. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Tarpon Springs and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Tarpon Springs, month by month
Tarpon Springs sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 61° | 52° |
| April | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| July | 93° | 84° | 77° |
| October | 87° | 78° | 71° |
Flying in and out of Tarpon Springs
The nearest airport, St Pete-Clearwater International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 18 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tarpon Springs
Schools across Tarpon Springs average a B+, better than 79% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Tarpon Springs Fundamental EleA+ · 92% proficient
- Cypress Woods Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Brooker Creek Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tarpon Springs Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Paul R. Smith Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- East Lake High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Anclote High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Tarpon Springs High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tarpon Springs school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tarpon Springs 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 Tarpon Springs against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Tarpon Springs suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 25% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 82% of cities, health care access beats 73%, and it is quieter than 92%.
Common questions about living in Tarpon Springs
Is Tarpon Springs a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tarpon Springs ranks 1,039th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on summer heat and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tarpon Springs expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $374,346. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $84,190 median income, cost of living beats 57% of cities.
Is Tarpon Springs safe?
Yes, Tarpon Springs is safer than 67% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Tarpon Springs?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 73 with lows near 52. That works out to about 149 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of cities.
Is Tarpon Springs good for families?
Schools beat 79% of cities, crime safety beats 67%, and childcare runs $1,048 a month.
Compare Tarpon Springs with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tarpon Springs. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tarpon Springs 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.
Tarpon Springs detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tarpon Springs: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tarpon Springs: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tarpon Springs: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tarpon Springs: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tarpon Springs 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.