Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 83,498. Public schools that outperform most of Florida.
For most people who can afford it, yes. The Villages grades B overall, 105th of 634 graded towns in Florida. Its schools rank ahead of 86% of Florida towns. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $392K for a typical one and 6.4 times the Ocala metro’s $61K median household income. 85% of residents are 65 or older in The Villages, above both Florida’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (18%). The Villages has 1 place on the National Register. Only 3 of the 638 Florida towns we compare have a lower share of children under 18 than The Villages.
Where The Villages beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| The Villages Charter School Autism Center LLC | K–5 | — |
| Villages Charter School | PK–12 | 4,062 |
51,442 counted in 2010 and 79,077 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far The Villages is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,333 in 2000, 79,077 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 2003 and 2 maps from 1966 on.
Explore the history →The Villages is unincorporated, so Marion 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 The Villages.
The Villages has schools in the top 5% of Florida and has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
43% of The Villages adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| The Villages | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 74.1 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 31% | 29% |
53.8% women, 46.2% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 73.7, men 74.7.
| The Villages | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 0.3% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 0.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0.2% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 0.7% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 1.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 1.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 40.4% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 44.7% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.8% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.3% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.6% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.2% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
That grade ranks #20 of the 638 Florida towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $392K.
Public schools: the Sumter school district. The largest public high school is Villages Charter School, with 4,062 students. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Villages Charter School Autism Center LLCLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | – | – |
| Villages Charter SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 4,062 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
52 miles of trail. The Villages’ concentration of trails stands at 1.5 miles per square mile.
| The Villages | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 3% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
On expected storm and flood damage, The Villages sits above just over two thirds of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 2 claims locally since 2004. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 40% come from inland flooding and 39% from hurricanes. Federal aid has come to The Villages households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Lisbon weather station, 13 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 327 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 46.1°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.5°.
In The Villages, the January low is 46°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
| The Villages | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 46°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 636 Florida towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than The Villages. In The Villages, 13% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. 6.5% of adults in The Villages binge drink; 26% sleep under 7 hours. Against the Florida average, The Villages comes out ahead on 17 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 8.
| The Villages | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 6.5% | 15% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 37% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 23% |
| What stands out | The Villages | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3.4% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 2.3% | 8.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 22.6% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 14,722 working residents takes 21.2 minutes, against 28 across Florida. Jobs based here grew from 8,697 in 2013 to 11,466.
The top destinations are Wildwood (9%), Lady Lake (5%) and Jacksonville (4%). Most working residents leave The Villages for work: only 12% work in town. Also worth knowing: for residents locally, the share who live below the poverty line is 4.7%. Employers in The Villages added 2,769 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 11,466.
| The Villages | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 6.4 years of the Ocala metro’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $392K) costs more against local pay than in 77% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The typical value, about $392K, is 9% below its August 2022 peak.
The Villages’ median rent comes in at $1,397 a month. The typical home value locally is about $392,000, down 0.8% in a year, close to the Florida typical home. Among households locally, 93% are owner-occupiers.
| The Villages | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,397 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around The Villages. Close and well known come first.
23 mi MountainSugarloaf Mountain
22 mi National forestOcala National Forest
22 mi Zoo & aquariumSilver Springs
28 mi LookoutFlorida Citrus Tower
40 mi State parkBlue Spring State Park
13 mi MuseumDon Garlits Museum of Drag RacingSugarloaf Mountain: Lithium6ion at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Ocala National Forest: Sandra Friend, Public domain · Silver Springs: NeilEvans, Public domain · Florida Citrus Tower: The shyguy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Blue Spring State Park: Rizka, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing: Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5
2 within 15 miles of the center of The Villages
About 1 of every 100 The Villages residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
The Villages is a census-designated place (CDP) spanning Sumter, Marion, and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the central area of a larger master-planned, age-restricted community known as The Villages. Situated in central Florida, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Ocala and 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Orlando, the CDP had a population of 79,077 at the 2020 United States census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford metropolitan statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with The Villages.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Villages | #105 | B | D | — | A | B+ |
| Wildwood | #369 | C | D− | — | A | B |
The Villages and Wildwood report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare The Villages with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. The Villages grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #105 of 634 in Florida. It grades B+ for health 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.
