Pensacola and the Emerald Coast
The western Panhandle runs from historic Pensacola east to Panama City Beach. In between are Destin's harbor and the small beach towns of 30A, all on sugar white sand and clear green water.
On average, strongest on boating, the outdoors and beaches. Weakest on walkability.
Average of the 18 town scorecards. How we score
Perdido Key
A skinny barrier island on the Alabama line, with Gulf front condos, protected dunes on both ends and the Flora-Bama in the middle of it all.
Pensacola
Florida's westernmost city, with more than 450 years of history, a lively downtown and white sand beaches across the bay.
Gulf Breeze
A leafy peninsula between downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, where families come for the schools and the water is at the end of every street.
Pensacola Beach
A barrier island town on Santa Rosa Island, with sugar white sand and miles of protected national seashore on both sides.
Navarre Beach
The quiet stretch of the Emerald Coast, with a long Gulf pier, a sea turtle center and miles of open dunes between Pensacola Beach and Destin.
Navarre
The mainland side of Navarre, a growing stretch of neighborhoods along Santa Rosa Sound with Navarre Beach a short causeway drive away.
CompareMary Esther
A small, settled city on Santa Rosa Sound between Fort Walton Beach and Hurlburt Field, with sound front streets and some of the most approachable prices in the area.
Fort Walton Beach
An unpretentious waterfront city on Santa Rosa Sound with a walkable old downtown, a calendar full of local events and Okaloosa Island's beaches just over the bridge.
Okaloosa Island
A short barrier island strip across the bridge from Fort Walton Beach, with a Gulf pier, a beachfront boardwalk, the Gulfarium and undeveloped land running east toward Destin.
CompareShalimar
A tiny, leafy town on Choctawhatchee Bay and its bayous, just north of Fort Walton Beach, with shady streets, docks and a waterfront golf course.
Destin
A harbor town built around fishing charters and emerald water.
Niceville
A bayside town on Choctawhatchee Bay where boats tie up on the bayous and the Gulf beaches are a short drive away.
CompareValparaiso
A small, older bayou town tucked between Eglin Air Force Base and Boggy Bayou, right next door to Niceville.
Miramar Beach
The stretch of Gulf front between Destin and 30A, with sugar white beaches, Sandestin's shops and a lot going on all year.
30A (Santa Rosa Beach)
Sugar white sand, rare coastal dune lakes and small beach towns strung along Scenic Highway 30A.
CompareFreeport
A fast growing inland town on the bay side of Walton County, where newer neighborhoods sit a short drive from the 30A beaches.
Panama City Beach
Big beaches, big energy and a lot going on after dark.
Panama City
A bayfront city on St. Andrews Bay with a reviving downtown and the Gulf beaches a bridge away.