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Brooksville, Florida

Brooksville is a small town of about 10,100 people in Hernando County, Florida. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 14% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tampa, is about 38 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
10,145
up 14% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$141,000
Hernando County prices up 9.2% since 2022
Household income
$54,926
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Tampa area
100.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Tampa General Hospital Brooksville
To Tampa
38 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.9% above the U.S. average in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Brooksville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 5 elementary, 4 middle and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close byTampa General Hospital Brooksville is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTampa is about 38 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Brooksville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 14% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$141,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.2%Hernando County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,137 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$54,926U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,496 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.9U.S. average = 100 (the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, not Brooksville alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
10,1452020: 8,925
Median age
47.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
29%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%); retail (14%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
35 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
20%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Tampa General Hospital Brooksville, Brooksville, FL, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

12 public schools in Brooksville, run by Hernando.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
44°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
105 a year
Nights at or below freezing
14 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
178 feet

Weather stations: Brooksville Hernando Co Ap (4 miles away) and Brooksville Chin Hill (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Tampa.

Hernando County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the South Brooksville Avenue Historic District.

Read about Brooksville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Brooksville?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Garden Grove, FL (unincorporated)637 people, 4 miles
  • Wiscon, FL (unincorporated)499 people, 4 miles
  • Masaryktown, FL (unincorporated)1,262 people, 6 miles
  • Spring Lake, FL (unincorporated)563 people, 7 miles
  • Lake Lindsey, FL (unincorporated)202 people, 8 miles
  • Nobleton, FL (unincorporated)386 people, 12 miles
  • Istachatta, FL (unincorporated)115 people, 13 miles
  • Weeki Wachee Gardens, FL (unincorporated)1,068 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.