Best PlacesTaylor County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Taylor County, 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.
Taylor County ranks 2,735th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Taylor County
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.
Taylor County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Taylor County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 91% of counties
- QuietBetter than 82% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 76% of counties
Where Taylor County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Household income$53,665 median, better than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Taylor County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Taylor County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,665, 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 Taylor County's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Taylor County
Taylor County 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 Taylor County.
Who works in Taylor County, and how
Work in Taylor County centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Taylor County
Taylor County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. The coast is about 29 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Taylor County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Taylor County growing, and who is moving in?
Taylor County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dixie County, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Taylor County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Taylor County, month by month
Taylor County sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 53° | 41° |
| April | 83° | 69° | 56° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 86° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Taylor County
The nearest airport, Tallahassee International, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 118 miles away.
The best schools in and around Taylor County
Schools across Taylor County average a B, better than 67% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Steinhatchee SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Taylor County Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Taylor County Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Taylor County High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Taylor County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Taylor County 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 Taylor County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Taylor County suits
Common questions about living in Taylor County
Is Taylor County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Taylor County ranks 2,735th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Taylor County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $134,265. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $53,665 median income, cost of living beats 14% of counties.
Is Taylor County safe?
Taylor County is safer than 22% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $293 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Taylor County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 41. That works out to about 112 pleasant days a year, more than 69% of counties.
Is Taylor County good for families?
Schools beat 67% of counties, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $502 a month.
Compare Taylor County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Taylor County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Taylor County 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.
Taylor County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Taylor County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Taylor County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Taylor County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Taylor County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Taylor County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.