Moon LakeFL
A town of 4,638.
Is Moon Lake a good place to live?
Moon Lake gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about for a typical one, or years of the Tampa metro’s $74K median household income. It grades B− overall, 187th of 634 graded towns in Florida. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 95% of the country, and the median household income is $49K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Moon Lake, above both Florida’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 8 of Florida’s 774 towns score higher on cost of living. The biggest park or preserve is J. B. Starkey Wilderness Park, at 667 acres.
What makes Moon Lake stand out
Where Moon Lake beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
98% of working residents leave Moon Lake for work
Where Moon Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Moon Lake grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Moon Lake is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 5%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Moon Lake: who provides what
Moon Lake is unincorporated, so Pasco 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Moon Lake.
Moon Lake has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has property taxes about half the Florida norm, but it has poverty well above the Florida rate.
Compared with most of Florida and the rest of the country, more of Moon Lake’s adults smoke cigarettes
26% of Moon Lake adults smoke cigarettes. Moon Lake beats the Florida average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 25. 36% of Moon Lake adults get no exercise outside work.
| Moon Lake | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 20% | 19% |
| What stands out | Moon Lake | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.5% | 12.7% |
| More smokers | 25.5% | 12.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 14% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J. B. Starkey Wilderness Park | — | 667 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Moon Lake has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Moon Lake for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Moon Lake grew to 743 in 2023, 575 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Moon Lake is 29 minutes.
| Moon Lake | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Moon Lake faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Moon Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Moon Lake
January nights average 48°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.5°.
Moon Lake has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Moon Lake’s January low is 48°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Moon Lake | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 48°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Moon Lake sell for about $323K
The median property tax bill is $457, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
79% of households own their home in Moon Lake.
| Moon Lake | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,043 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Tropicana Field and 43 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Moon Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaTropicana Field
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaRaymond James Stadium
26 mi Stadium & arenaBenchmark International Arena
21 mi Theme parkBusch Gardens Tampa4.0M visitors a year
21 mi Stadium & arenaYuengling Center
15 mi State parkWeeki Wachee SpringsPhoto credits
Tropicana Field: EaglesFanInTampa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raymond James Stadium: NASA, Public domain · Benchmark International Arena: Miosotis Jade, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Busch Gardens Tampa: Wolle8ball, CC BY 3.0 · Yuengling Center: User:TheCustomOfLife, Public domain · Weeki Wachee Springs: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about Moon Lake
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Moon Lake
About 3 of every 100 Moon Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
About Moon Lake
CDP in Florida, United States
Moon Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,817 as of the 2020 census. Moon Lake Road passes through the area. Moon Lake was once home to the Moon Lake Gardens Dude Ranch, built between 1933 and 1937 by the owner of Clearwater, Florida's Fort Harrison Hotel, Ed Haley. The tourist resort included cottages, a casino, and gardens. Moon Lake's elementary school scored an A on state evaluations. At 4,458, it has 75% of its population from lower income homes. The ZIP Code for Moon Lake is 34654.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.8 sq mi
Moon Lake’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Moon Lake.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moon Lake | #187 | B− | A | — | B | D− |
| River Ridge | #171 | B− | C | — | B | B− |
Moon Lake and River Ridge report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Moon Lake with a neighbor →
Questions about Moon Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Moon Lake, FL a good place to live?
Moon Lake grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #187 of 634 in Florida. It grades D− for health and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.