Moving to
The Villages.

All The Villages data Compare The Villages

83,498people live here $77,622median household incomeNear US average $1,397median rent per monthNear US average $400,100median home value▲ 20% above US

The Villages is an unincorporated community in Sumter County, FL. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in The Villages

The Villages is a large unincorporated community in Florida with commutes that run shorter than most cities, a highly educated workforce, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. The Villages deals with county unemployment above the national average and above-average rainfall.

The good

Short commutes
Highly educated workforce
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Above-average unemployment in the county
Above-average rainfall

How The Villages compares

Median household income

The Villages$77,622

Florida avg$74,568

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

The Villages$1,397

Florida avg$1,669

US$1,413

Median home value

The Villages$400,100

Florida avg$359,000

US$332,700

What it takes to move to The Villages

Based on The Villages's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,794

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $55,880 a year
48% of The Villages renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$80,020

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $40,010
Homes cost 5.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,397/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,397 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $400,100. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $400,100 · 48% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

6.8% county unemployment

Unemployment in Sumter County is 6.8%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Sumter County (county-wide)

Safety

145 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

The Villages doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Sumter County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 556/100k · Policed by Sumter County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 18% below US

21 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 21.2 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 6 in 10 workers drive to work; 28% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

56%

Work from home

28%

Other

9.8%

Carpool

3.2%

Walk

2.8%

Public transit

0.4%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 89°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 48°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▲ 19% above US

43% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 43% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

1 public school inside the boundary

There is 1 public school inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Fort Matanzas National Monument (71 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

The Villages's strongest points are commutes that run shorter than most cities and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and above-average rainfall. A year of median rent ($1,397/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (28% of workers here already work from home), people who want short commutes, and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up.

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