What should you know before moving to Springfield?
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C−, 499th among Florida's 634 graded towns. Its weakest subject is safety: its police reported 39 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Springfield, above both Florida’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Springfield is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 70% of U.S. towns.
What makes Springfield stand out
Where Springfield beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
97% of working residents leave Springfield for work
Where Springfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Springfield grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Springfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Springfield: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Springfield, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Springfield.
Springfield is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Florida.
For safety, Springfield earns a D
Reported crimes fell from 256 to 148 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Springfield is 4.5 per 1,000 residents. Springfield reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 88% report less.
| Springfield | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.7 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
On state tests, Springfield’s schools beat 61% of Florida districts
Its public schools are run by the Bay school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Rutherford High School, with 1,394 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 1,394 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Very high risk in Springfield, with hurricanes at the top
89 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1980, 89 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Springfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Springfield’s typical home value is about $215K
At 3 years of the Panama City metro’s $72K median household income, the typical home (about $215K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $990, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Springfield home is worth about $215,000, about the same as a year ago, 43% below the Florida typical home. 62% of households own their home in Springfield.
| Springfield | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,307 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
On CDC estimates, Springfield is less healthy than 77% of U.S. towns
Against the 7,255 U.S. towns with household incomes like Springfield’s, it is less healthy than 56%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Springfield beats the Florida average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 43% of Springfield adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Springfield | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Springfield | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.3% | 9.1% |
| More smokers | 17.6% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of Springfield’s workers commute out: the town has 0.4 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Springfield for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Springfield grew to 1,284 in 2023, 207 more than in 2013. Springfield’s median household income is $54,000.
| Springfield | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $54,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Springfield | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Springfield Gardens Walking Park | 0.6 mi | 9 |
| 2. Buddy McLemore Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Henry Brooks Memorial Walking Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In Springfield, expect mild winters and hot summers
The Panama City 5n weather station, 6 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 301 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 77% of Florida places with climate records. The Panama City 5n weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 67 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 87% of Florida places with climate records.
Springfield has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 43° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Springfield
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Springfield
About 5 of every 100 Springfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
About Springfield
City in Florida, United States
Springfield is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States, east of Panama City. It is part of the Panama City–Panama City Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Springfield was incorporated on February 12, 1935. The population was 8,075 at the 2020 census, down from 8,903 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1935
- Area
- 4.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 26 ft
Springfield’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Springfield.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | #499 | C− | B− | D | B | C− |
| Cedar Grove | #196 | B− | B+ | — | B | C− |
| Callaway | #402 | C | C+ | — | B | C |
| Panama City | #555 | D | C | D | B | C− |
| Parker | #297 | C+ | C+ | C | B | B |
Cedar Grove and Callaway report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Springfield with a neighbor →
Questions about Springfield
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Springfield, FL a good place to live?
Springfield grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #499 of 634 in Florida. It grades C− for health, D for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Springfield, FL expensive?
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($71,514 across the Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.