Living in Williston Highlands, Florida: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.3% below the U.S. average in the Gainesville metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
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 Williston Middle High School, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close byHCA Florida North Florida Hospital in Gainesville, about 24 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 87 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 Williston Highlands 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $228,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 17%Levy County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $723 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $79,662U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 90%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,400 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 96.7U.S. average = 100 (the Gainesville 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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Gainesville metro area, not Williston Highlands 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: 3,666The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%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: Construction (16%); schools, health care and social services (13%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, Gainesville, FL, about 24 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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 Williston Highlands itself. The nearest public high school is Williston Middle High School, about 6 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.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 93%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: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 82 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 15 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57.1 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 106 feet

Weather station: Usher Twr (18 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 North Florida HospitalEmergency room24

Ocala, FLCity of 72,00026

Jacksonville, FLMetro of 1.8 million87

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 North Florida Hospital, Ocala, Jacksonville.

Levy County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Williston Highlands's history on Wikipedia.

Know Williston Highlands?

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

Williston, FL3,500 people, 7 miles
East Bronson, FL2,600 people, 9 miles
Bronson, FL1,300 people, 10 miles
Rainbow Lakes Estates, FL3,800 people, 12 miles
Archer, FL1,200 people, 15 miles
Rainbow Springs, FL6,100 people, 17 miles

Smaller places

East Williston, FL (unincorporated)520 people, 8 miles
Raleigh, FL (unincorporated)499 people, 9 miles
Otter Creek, FL117 people, 14 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.