Best PlacesWest DeLand, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West DeLand, 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.
West DeLand ranks 16,390th 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 West DeLand
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.
West DeLand's strengths and weaknesses
Where West DeLand ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 157 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of towns
Where West DeLand ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 16% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West DeLand
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West DeLand home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,399, 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 West DeLand's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 West DeLand
West DeLand runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West DeLand.
Who works in West DeLand, and how
Work in West DeLand centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in West DeLand
The coast is about 30 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across West DeLand, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West DeLand, month by month
West DeLand sees roughly 157 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 49. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 58° | 49° |
| April | 83° | 71° | 60° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 74° | 67° |
Flying in and out of West DeLand
The nearest airport, Orlando Sanford International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Orlando International, about 41 miles away.
The best schools in and around West DeLand
Schools across West DeLand average a B, better than 64% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Woodward Avenue Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Edith I. Starke Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southwestern Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Deland High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West DeLand school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West DeLand 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 West DeLand against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West DeLand
Is West DeLand a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West DeLand ranks 16,390th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, cell coverage, and walkability, 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 West DeLand expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,123. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $75,399 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is West DeLand safe?
West DeLand is safer than 51% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare West DeLand with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West DeLand. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West DeLand 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.
West DeLand detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West DeLand: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West DeLand: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West DeLand: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West DeLand: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West DeLand 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.