Living in Ave Maria: what the town is actually like
Written for people considering a month, a season, or a year here — not for tourists. What’s walkable, what’s happening, what it’s like in August, and what nobody tells you until you arrive.
The town in one paragraph
Ave Maria is a master-planned town in eastern Collier County, about half an hour from Naples and roughly twenty years old. It’s built around a walkable Town Center, a Catholic university, and an Oratory you can see from most of the town. It has grown from about 4,100 residents in 2020 to roughly 8,400 today — a little over double in six years — and it’s planned to reach about 14,000 homes eventually. What that means in practice: it’s small, it’s young, it’s growing fast, and almost everybody you meet moved here on purpose.
What’s within a walk of Roma Street
- Publix — 0.4 miles [VERIFY] — groceries, pharmacy, everyday errands.
- Ave Maria Town Center — 0.5 miles [VERIFY] — restaurants, coffee, the farmers market, festivals.
- Ave Maria Parish (Oratory) — 0.5 miles [VERIFY] — daily Mass, a short walk away.
- Ave Maria University main gate — 0.6 miles [VERIFY].
- Donahue Academy — 0.7 miles [VERIFY] — K–12.
- Ave Maria Elementary School — [VERIFY] miles — opened August 2026.
- Maple Ridge Clubhouse & resort pool — a few minutes on foot.
- Naples / I-75 — approx. 30 minutes by car [VERIFY].
Schools
Ave Maria Elementary opened in August 2026, Donahue Academy runs K–12, and a new high school has been announced, alongside Ave Maria University. If you’re relocating with a family, this is most of the reason people choose Ave Maria in the first place.
Groceries, healthcare and errands
Publix sits in the Town Center for everyday shopping. For anything the town doesn’t have yet, or for specialists, the drive is out to Naples — about half an hour — which is also where the nearest airport (RSW) connects.
The seasons, honestly
January through April is why people come: dry, warm, and full. May is when it starts to change. June through September is genuinely hot and genuinely wet, with afternoon storms most days and hurricane season in the background — and it’s also when the pool stops being a nice feature and starts being the reason the summer is fine. October firms up. November and December are lovely, and the town does a proper Christmas.
We’d rather tell you that than have you find out.
What happens on Roma Street
The Steak Cook-Off, Blues Brews & BBQ, the Margarita & Taco Festival, Taste of Ave — Roma Street is the corridor Ave Maria uses for its town events. If you live here, you don’t drive to them. You walk out the front door. Read more in the Journal.
Getting around
A walkable core, plenty of golf carts, a half-hour drive to Naples and I-75, and RSW airport beyond that.
Who moves here
Young families, retirees, university families, remote workers, and people leaving northern winters. It is not a beach town — it is a town built around a university, a church, and a plan.