Census-designated place · Hernando County, Florida

Hernando Beach, Florida

Hernando Beach is a census-designated place in Hernando County, Florida, part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area. It has 2,675 residents. Hernando Beach, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 28 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,214 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #560 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), child care cost burden (low) and drinking water violations (low). It ranks worst on hospital quality rating (low), rent-burdened households (high) and public libraries (low).

28Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,214 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #560 of 780 in FL
Population: 2,675 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 754.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1229437

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety41#9,150/15,637
Economy62#5,928/15,631
Housing2#14,684/14,977
Health40#9,392/15,609
Healthcare14#13,454/15,650
Environment62#5,808/15,453
Education65#5,424/15,649
Infrastructure48#8,174/15,650
Community14#13,425/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,446/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hernando Beach, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hernando County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high33.5%
91/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHernando County value
Child care cost burden · low21.4%
90/100Florida 25.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHernando County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Florida 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHernando County value
Broadband subscriptions · high95.5%
80/100Florida 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Poverty rate · low5.5%
79/100Florida 12.1%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
New business applications · high17.0 /1k
78/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHernando County value

Weaknesses

Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Florida 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHernando County value
Rent-burdened households · high59.5%
4/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
4/100Florida 0.2 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesHernando County value
Rent as share of income · high30.8%
7/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071High uncertainty
Injury deaths · high134 /100k
8/100Florida 97 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHernando County value
Hot days · high108 days
8/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHernando County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
22.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.6% (2015-2019) → 59.5% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$58,520 (2015-2019) → $101,875 (2020-2024)
+74%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
14.7% (2015-2019) → 5.5% (2020-2024)
−9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
15.4% (2015-2019) → 11.1% (2020-2024)
−4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherImproving
94.4% (2015-2019) → 97.9% (2020-2024)
+3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Hernando Beach, Florida improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+74%$58,520 → $101,875

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Hernando Beach, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	38.7 min2015-2019	34.5 min2020-2024	−4.2 min	Within the margin of error	87%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.9%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Broadband subscriptions	93.1%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Effective property tax rate	0.87%2015-2019	0.81%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	94.4%2015-2019	97.9%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	4.9×2015-2019	5.2×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	63%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4922015-2019	0.4602020-2024	−0.033	Within the margin of error	76%
Median household income	$58,5202015-2019	$101,8752020-2024	+74%	Improved	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.4%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Hernando Beach, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hernando Beach, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Hernando Beach, Florida itself moved +5.7 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,675 residents (±341)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,196 households (±158)

Hernando Beach, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k8.4%†100
$25k–50k11%†133
$50k–75k21%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,196 households (±158)

Hernando Beach, Florida
Florida share

Own89%1,065
Rent11%†131

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−4.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,363 workers (±235)

Hernando Beach, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone60%821
Carpool14%†195
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Hernando County, the county holding most of Hernando Beach's residents.

Hernando County has 3,874 employer establishments, 182 for every 10,000 residents (0.73× the US rate of 248; 0.65× Florida's), with 42,473 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,382. The Census Bureau also counts 19,838 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,874; 19,838 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 182; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 42,473
Average annual pay: $43,382; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Hernando County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	460	21.6	1.04×About typical	4,708	$70,602	1,073
Specialty trade contractors	379	17.8	1.15×About typical	2,253	$47,718	1,429
Restaurants and other eating places	261	12.2	0.67×Fewer than typical	5,741	$21,681	129
Lessors of real estate	224	10.5	0.85×About typical	625	$41,878	1,651
Offices of physicians	200	9.4	1.45×More than typical	2,013	$88,690	119
Services to buildings and dwellings	186	8.7	1.29×More than typical	691	$33,834	1,806
Real estate agents and brokers	127	6	1.22×About typical	207	$35,763	705
Building equipment contractors	125	5.9	0.97×About typical	590	$49,542	216
Full-service restaurants	122	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	3,034	$24,160	54
Limited-service restaurants	119	5.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	2,499	$18,947	52
Construction of buildings	111	5.2	0.69×Fewer than typical	527	$50,860	781
Building finishing contractors	103	4.8	1.27×More than typical	395	$46,711	548

Rank places for an industry Open Hernando County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 213,201 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $104.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hernando Beach, Florida: $39.03 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $104.4K
Per resident: $39.03; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$105.7K100%

Top recipients

MYSTIC SPEAR, LLC$105.7K100%
PARAMOUNT ELECTRIC SUPPLY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, INC.-$1,3310.0%

Spending by fiscal year

12KFY2017
12KFY2018
-2.9KFY2019
-2.4KFY2020
-35.9FY2022
-1.6FY2024
104.4KFY2026

What was bought

Research & development

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$105.7K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Hernando Beach, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Hernando Beach, Florida's figures are part of those of Hernando County, FL ($18.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Hernando Beach is mostly in Hernando County.

See federal money in Hernando County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Hernando Beach, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Gus M. BilirakisR-FL-12 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 2.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Hernando County41100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL64

Other cities and towns in Hernando County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1229437

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends