Living in Moon Lake, Florida: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Moon Lake 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is River Ridge High School, about 2 miles away.
A hospital close byHCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital in Hudson, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTampa is about 24 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 Moon Lake 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Moon Lake runs into the built-up area around Tampa (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

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

Home prices since then: Up 8%Pasco County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,043 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $48,878U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $457 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%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 8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, not Moon Lake 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: 4,638The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 37.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%

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 (32%); construction (15%); retail (13%)
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 9%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital, Hudson, FL, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

There are no public schools inside Moon Lake itself. The nearest public high school is River Ridge High School, about 2 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: 51°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 95 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 2 a year
Rain and melted snow: 54.3 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 42 feet

Weather station: Tarpon Spgs Sewage Plt (14 miles 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

HCA Florida Bayonet Point HospitalEmergency room7

Tampa, FLMetro of 3.4 million24

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: HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital, Tampa.

Pasco 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

De Soto National Memorial53 miles

Read about Moon Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Moon Lake?

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

River Ridge, FL5,100 people, 2 miles
Meadow Oaks, FL3,700 people, 4 miles
Quail Ridge, FL2,900 people, 5 miles
New Port Richey East, FL11,900 people, 6 miles
Hudson, FL11,300 people, 7 miles
Port Richey, FL3,700 people, 7 miles

Smaller places

Heritage Pines, FL (unincorporated)1,477 people, 9 miles
Aripeka, FL (unincorporated)258 people, 10 miles
Key Vista, FL (unincorporated)1,418 people, 12 miles
Masaryktown, FL (unincorporated)1,262 people, 13 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.