Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Today 2,778 people live in this town, first settled in 1935.
Eglin AFB’s lowest grade is for cost of living — the typical home is worth about , years of the Crestview metro’s $82K median household income. At B− overall, Eglin AFB ranks 173rd of 634 in Florida. It comes out better than 49% of U.S. towns. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Health is its strong suit — it is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns. The town’s average commute is 14 minutes, against 27 minutes in Florida’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On history, just 60 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse. 36% of residents are under 18 in the town, above both the Florida town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Eglin AFB beats most towns.
2,274 counted in 2010 and 3,006 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Eglin AFB is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,347 in 1990, 3,006 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1950 and 5 maps from 1938 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Eglin AFB. Close and well known come first.
4 mi National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
in town MuseumAir Force Armament Museum27 mi Zoo & aquariumGulf Breeze Zoo
40 mi MuseumPensacola Museum of History
40 mi City parkFlorala City Park
40 mi MuseumPensacola Museum of ArtGulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · Air Force Armament Museum: Greg Goebel, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pensacola Museum of History: User:TheCustomOfLife, Public domain · Florala City Park: Skye Marthaler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pensacola Museum of Art: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Eglin AFB is unincorporated, so Okaloosa County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Eglin AFB.
Eglin AFB has less heart disease than most of Florida, has commutes shorter than most of Florida and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Florida.
Its widest gap with Florida is heart disease: 1.4% of its 1,860 adults have heart disease, against 7.5% statewide.
Only one of the 636 Florida towns we compare has a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Eglin AFB. Just over one in ten adults say their health is fair or poor here. The town does better than the Florida average on 13 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 7.
| Eglin AFB | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 3.2% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 15% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Eglin AFB | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 1.4% | 7.5% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 2% | 9.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 25.2% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The public schools here belong to the Okaloosa school district. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Eglin AFB’s public school: 436 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eglin Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 436 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Expected losses in Eglin AFB break down as 66% from hurricanes and 10% from tornadoes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Eglin AFB after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2020.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Niceville weather station, 6 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 253 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 98% of Florida places with climate records. The Niceville weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 52 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 95% of Florida places with climate records.
Eglin AFB’s midsummer high stands at 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 505 working residents takes 14.1 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
Employers in Eglin AFB added 73 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 381. In Eglin AFB, 2.7% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Fort Walton Beach (10%), Pensacola (7%) and Destin (7%). Half of commuters travel less than 39 miles.
| Eglin AFB | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.4% | 5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $84,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Eglin AFB
About 8 of every 100 Eglin AFB residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
United States Air Force operating base in northwestern Florida
Eglin Air Force Base (IATA: VPS, ICAO: KVPS, FAA LID: VPS) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about three miles (5 km) southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) systems. Eglin AFB was established 91 years ago in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base. It is named in honor of Lt. Col. Frederick I. Eglin (1891–1937), who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A-17 atta…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Eglin AFB.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eglin AFB | #173 | B− | D− | — | A− | A |
| Lake Lorraine | #41 | B+ | C− | — | A− | A |
Eglin AFB and Lake Lorraine report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Eglin AFB with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Eglin AFB grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #173 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
