Panhandle · Okaloosa County

Living in Crestview, Florida

Crestview is a city in Okaloosa County, with about 28,773 people.1 It feels small-town or low-density suburban, at 1,646 people per square mile.1,3

28,7731people
$277,9001median home value
$1,366/mo1median rent
31.71median age

Nearest 24-hour emergency room

North Okaloosa Medical Center, listed in Crestview.2

Straight-line distance from the town's center; driving is longer. Freestanding ERs and urgent care aren't counted.

Life in the Panhandle

Florida's far northwest: sugar-white Gulf beaches, Navy and Air Force towns, and a Southern pace.4

Hazards: Hurricanes hit hard here. Michael came ashore at Mexico Beach in October 2018 as a Category 5 with 160 mph winds and a storm surge about 14 feet deep, damaged every building on Tyndall Air Force Base, and was blamed for 50 deaths in Florida. It was the strongest landfall ever recorded on the Panhandle. Ivan in 2004 and Sally in 2020 also battered the Pensacola area.4,5,6,7

Visitor information

Okaloosa County's official tourism office: Destin-Fort Walton Beach.8 Ask about local events, things to do and a free visitor guide, if they offer one.

Read the free Panhandle preview, including the region's state-certified visitor centers.

The full Crestview town card

Choosing Your Place has the complete card for Crestview and 779 other places:

Get Choosing Your Place · $9.99See a full sample card

Other places in Okaloosa County

Written by Charles Squires, North Port, Florida. 40 years living in Florida, in eight places.

I lived in Fort Walton Beach and Destin for 11 years.

More about the author and how this manual is made

"Median" means half are above and half below. Figures are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for Crestview as a Census-defined place; the area a mailing address calls Crestview can be larger.

Notes

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024
  2. CMS Hospital General Information (Care Compare)
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (places)
  4. Eglin Air Force Base (Wikipedia)
  5. Pensacola climate summaries (National Weather Service, Mobile)
  6. Pensacola (Wikipedia)
  7. Hurricane Michael (Wikipedia)
  8. County tourism office websites, each opened or confirmed 2026-11-05