Best PlacesWalton County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Walton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Walton County ranks 1,065th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Walton 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.
The best areas in Walton County
The parts of Walton County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Rosemary Bch
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and commutes are shorter.
Santa Rosa Beach & Miramar Beach
Fewer households have young kids and homes cost more.
Freeport
Fewer homes sit empty, though tree cover is thinner.
DeFuniak Springs
Fewer adults hold degrees and health outcomes score lower.
Scores across Walton County run from about the 6th to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Walton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Walton County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 96% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
Where Walton County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Walton County
A household needs to earn about $121,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Walton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $87,541, 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 Walton County's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Walton County
Walton 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 Walton County.
Who works in Walton County, and how
Work in Walton County centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Walton County
Walton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of counties and more parkland per resident than 99% of counties. The coast is about 28 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Walton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Walton County growing, and who is moving in?
Walton County has grown about 46% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Indianapolis, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Walton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Walton County, month by month
Walton County sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 48. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 55° | 48° |
| April | 77° | 70° | 63° |
| July | 91° | 84° | 78° |
| October | 83° | 74° | 67° |
Flying in and out of Walton County
The nearest airport, Eglin AFB/Destin-Ft Walton Beach, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 237 miles away.
The best schools in and around Walton County
Schools across Walton County average an A, better than 96% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Dune Lakes Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Van R. Butler Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Mossy Head SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Emerald Coast Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Destin Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Freeport Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Seaside Neighborhood SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- South Walton High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Walton Virtual FranchiseA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Walton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Walton 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 Walton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Walton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Walton County
Is Walton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Walton County ranks 1,065th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, state infrastructure, and good schools, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Walton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $485,015. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $87,541 median income, cost of living beats 78% of counties.
Is Walton County safe?
Yes, Walton County is safer than 95% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $141 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Walton County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 48. That works out to about 113 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Walton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Rosemary Bch, Santa Rosa Beach & Miramar Beach, and Freeport. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Walton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Walton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Walton 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.
Walton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Walton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Walton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Walton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Walton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Walton 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.