Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Gulf Breeze grades A− overall, ranked 23rd of 634 in Florida. It has 18 miles of trail. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 92% of U.S. towns and residents are healthier than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $479K, 6.3 years of the Pensacola metro’s $76K median household income. 57% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Gulf Breeze, against 31% in Florida’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 7 of Florida’s 327 towns score higher on civic life. The biggest place to walk is Gulf Islands National Seashore, 1,252 acres with 16.3 miles of trail.
Where Gulf Breeze beats most towns.
Where Gulf Breeze’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Gulf Breeze is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,190 in 1970, 6,302 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1824 and 4 maps from 1921 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gulf Breeze. Close and well known come first.
8 mi LandmarkFort Pickens
10 mi Ancient siteUSS Massachusetts
in town National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
8 mi MuseumNational Naval Aviation Museum
8 mi LandmarkFort Barrancas20 mi BeachOno IslandFort Pickens: Notneb82, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain · Gulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · National Naval Aviation Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Barrancas: National Park Service, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gulf Breeze, and how to reach them.
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 Gulf Breeze.
Gulf Breeze draws workers from Midway and beyond and has less no health insurance than most of Florida, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
3,792 jobs are based in Gulf Breeze, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Gulf Breeze for work: only 13% work in town. Gulf Breeze’s median household income is $104,000. Jobs based in Gulf Breeze grew to 3,792 in 2023, 405 more than in 2013.
| Gulf Breeze | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $104,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $479K.
Its public schools are run by the Santa Rosa school district. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is Gulf Breeze High School, with 1,946 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf Breeze Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 916 | A |
| Gulf Breeze High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,946 | A− |
| Gulf Breeze Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 865 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #7 of 638 in Florida.
The trail density in Gulf Breeze is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Islands National Seashore | 16.3 mi | 1,252 |
| 2. Shoreline Park South | 0.9 mi | 66 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
No town among the 132 in Florida we compare has a lower property crime rate than Gulf Breeze.
| Gulf Breeze | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Florida is no health insurance: 6.7% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 15.9% statewide. Its A for health tops all 3 graded neighbors; Oriole Beach (A−) comes closest.
17% of Gulf Breeze adults get no exercise outside work. Gulf Breeze beats the Florida average on 15 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 9.1% of Gulf Breeze adults smoke cigarettes.
| Gulf Breeze | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 25% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Gulf Breeze | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.7% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 16.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.6% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
538 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 61 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 538 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gulf Breeze.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 6.3 years of the Pensacola metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $479K) costs more against local pay than in 76% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. 81.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 60.1% across Florida.
The typical Gulf Breeze home is worth about $479,000, up 1.2% in a year, 28% above the Florida typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Pensacola Forest Sherman Nas weather station, 9 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 277 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 77% of Florida places with climate records. The Pensacola Forest Sherman Nas weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 56 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 85% of Florida places with climate records.
Gulf Breeze has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 44° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Gulf Breeze
About 4 of every 100 Gulf Breeze residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
2 places in Gulf Breeze on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Gulf Breeze.
City in Florida, United States
Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is located between Downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, and is part of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,340 at the 2020 census, up from 5,763 at the 2010 census. Gulf Breeze is the nearest city to Pensacola Beach, and provides utility services to the island, and most of South Santa Rosa County covering over 33 square miles. The census designated places of Oriole Beach, Tiger Point, and Midway are considered to be a part of unincorporated Gulf Breeze by Santa Rosa County, and carry Gulf Breeze mailing addresses.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Gulf Breeze.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf Breeze | #23 | A− | D | A | A− | A |
| Pensacola | #333 | C | C | B+ | C− | B |
| Oriole Beach | — | — | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Midway | #168 | B− | C− | — | A− | A− |
Oriole Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Oriole Beach and Midway report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gulf Breeze with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Gulf Breeze grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #23 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health, A for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
4 notable people were born here, including Abigail Spencer and Doug Baldwin.
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