Living in Montura, Florida: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Florida outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Montura to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Clewiston High School, about 12 miles away.
A hospital close byHendry Regional Medical Center in Clewiston, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 81 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 Montura 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then: Up 19%Hendry County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,113 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $34,617U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $1,280 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 7%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 94U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Florida outside metro areas)

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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Florida outside metro areas, not Montura 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 4,121The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 41.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 4%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 11%U.S.: 6%
College students: 8%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: Construction (15%); farming, forestry and mining (11%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 14%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hendry Regional Medical Center, Clewiston, FL, about 12 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Lakeside Medical Center, Belle Glade, FL, about 27 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

1 public school in Montura, run by Hendry. The nearest public high school is Clewiston High School, about 12 miles away.

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.

Weather

January average low: 52°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 143 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 3 a year
Rain and melted snow: 53.8 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 22 feet

Weather station: Devils Garden (1 mile away). 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

Hendry Regional Medical CenterEmergency room12

Fort Myers, FLCity of 102,00046

Miami, FLMetro of 6.4 million81

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: Hendry Regional Medical Center, Fort Myers, Miami.

Hendry County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Big Cypress National Preserve27 miles
Everglades National Park55 miles

Read about Montura's history on Wikipedia.

Know Montura?

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

Clewiston, FL7,600 people, 12 miles
Moore Haven, FL1,700 people, 13 miles
Port LaBelle, FL7,900 people, 20 miles
South Bay, FL5,100 people, 22 miles
LaBelle, FL5,800 people, 23 miles
Immokalee, FL26,000 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Pioneer, FL (unincorporated)868 people, 10 miles
Harlem, FL (unincorporated)2,420 people, 11 miles

Sources

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.