Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,896, settled in 1925. A regional job hub with 3,506 jobs.
Valparaiso grades A− overall, 24th of 634 graded towns in Florida, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 82% of the country and its public schools beat 76% of Florida towns on state tests and graduation. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Valparaiso’s median age is 28.9 years, where Florida’s towns sit at 42.5 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Valparaiso is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Valparaiso has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them McKinley Climatic Laboratory and Eglin Field Historic District.
Where Valparaiso beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Valparaiso’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 Valparaiso is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 99 in 1930, a peak of 6,504 in 1970, 4,752 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1944 and 5 maps from 1937 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Valparaiso. Close and well known come first.
39 mi CaveVortex Spring
6 mi National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
3 mi MuseumAir Force Armament Museum29 mi Zoo & aquariumGulf Breeze Zoo
37 mi GardenFlorala City Park
24 mi MuseumBaker Block MuseumVortex Spring: Paul Clark. Edited slightly by Daniel Case prior to upload, CC BY 2.0 · Gulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · Air Force Armament Museum: Greg Goebel, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Florala City Park: Skye Marthaler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Baker Block Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Valparaiso, 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 Valparaiso.
Valparaiso pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Florida norm, draws workers from Niceville and beyond and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Florida.
Its public schools are run by the Okaloosa school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addie R. Lewis SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 653 | A− |
| Okaloosa Stemm CenterTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 366 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
3,506 jobs are based in Valparaiso, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.4 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
Valparaiso’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. Most working residents leave Valparaiso for work: only 9% work in town. 3.4% of Valparaiso residents live below the poverty line.
| Valparaiso | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.4% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.5% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Florida is no health insurance: 10.3% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 15.9% statewide.
19% of adults binge drink in Valparaiso. Valparaiso beats the Florida average on 16 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 30% of adults have high blood pressure in Valparaiso.
| Valparaiso | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 13% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Valparaiso | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 10.3% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.3% | 13.5% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.1% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
67 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1995, 67 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Valparaiso.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Niceville weather station 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 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.
Valparaiso has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Valparaiso is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Valparaiso grades A− overall with a typical home of about $328K, below the Florida typical value; only 1 of the 15 Florida towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Valparaiso home is worth about $328,000, about the same as a year ago, 13% below the Florida typical home.
| Valparaiso | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,366 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Valparaiso | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glen Argyle Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
| 2. Lincoln Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Florida Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Valparaiso
About 6 of every 100 Valparaiso residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
2 places in Valparaiso on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Florida, United States
Valparaiso ( val-pə-RAY-zoh) is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,752, down from 5,036 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Valparaiso.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso | #24 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Niceville | #18 | A− | D | A+ | A− | A− |
Valparaiso reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Valparaiso with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Valparaiso grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #24 of 634 in Florida. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($81,993 across the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, 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 C.
