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West Pensacola.

All West Pensacola data Compare West Pensacola

20,665people live here $40,511median household income▼ 50% below US $1,138median rent per month▼ 19% below US $116,100median home value▼ 65% below US

West Pensacola is an unincorporated community in Escambia 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 West Pensacola

West Pensacola is an unincorporated community in Florida with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. West Pensacola deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, a poverty rate above the national average, and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin.

The good

Rent below the national average
Affordable home prices
Average class sizes

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Low college degree attainment
High poverty rate
High rent burden for renters
Hot summers
Very rainy — 68" of rain per year

How West Pensacola compares

Median household income

West Pensacola$40,511

Florida avg$74,568

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

West Pensacola$1,138

Florida avg$1,669

US$1,413

Median home value

West Pensacola$116,100

Florida avg$359,000

US$332,700

What it takes to move to West Pensacola

Based on West Pensacola's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,276

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $45,520 a year
56% of West Pensacola renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$23,220

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $11,610
Homes cost 2.9× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 19% below US

$1,138/mo median rent

Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,138 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $116,100. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.

Median home value $116,100 · 56% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.3% county unemployment

Unemployment in Escambia County is 4.3%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Escambia County (county-wide)

Safety

602 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

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

Property crime 2554/100k · Policed by Escambia County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2020 data

Getting aroundNear US average

25 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 24.9 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% take public transit; 8% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

67%

Carpool

14%

Work from home

8.0%

Public transit

5.5%

Other

4.3%

Walk

1.3%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 46°F. It's a wet climate overall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 63% below US

14% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

5 public schools inside the boundary

There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to 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 Gulf Islands National Seashore (7 miles away).

Bottom line

West Pensacola's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,138/mo) equals 34% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.

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