Zolfo Springs' housing stock is modest and predominantly single-family, consistent with a small rural Florida town. Homes range from older frame houses and mid-century residences in town to manufactured homes and ranch-style properties on the surrounding acreage. Most residents own their homes, and lots tend to be larger than in coastal communities, with many properties offering room for outbuildings, livestock, or citrus. The community's rural, agricultural setting and its position on the Peace River appeal to buyers seeking space and quiet rather than suburban amenities, and nearby Wauchula extends the range of housing choices in the county.

Zolfo Springs is a small town of roughly 1.7 square miles, and its residential areas blend together rather than forming distinct named subdivisions. Homes cluster along U.S. Route 17 and the side streets radiating from the town center, with the Peace River and Pioneer Park defining the community's western edge. The surrounding unincorporated countryside is dotted with ranches, groves, and larger parcels, giving the area a distinctly rural character. Nearby Wauchula, the county seat four miles north, offers additional neighborhoods and commercial services, while the wider Hardee County landscape remains open and agricultural.

Life in Zolfo Springs is quiet, rural, and community-oriented. The town's identity is rooted in agriculture and the pioneer heritage preserved at Pioneer Park and the Cracker Trail Museum, and the Peace River provides a natural backdrop for fishing, walking, and canoeing. Most residents own their homes, and the pace is unhurried, with neighbors connected through schools, churches, and local gatherings. Wauchula supplies everyday shopping and services just up the road, while the larger cities of the Gulf Coast are about an hour away. It is a setting for those who value open countryside, cattle country, and a strong sense of local history.

Public education in Zolfo Springs is provided by the Hardee County School District. Zolfo Springs Elementary School serves the town's students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, while older students attend Hardee Junior High School and Hardee Senior High School in Wauchula, the county seat four miles north. The district's small scale reflects the county's rural, agricultural population. South Florida State College, with its main campus in Avon Park, is the nearest public college, and other postsecondary options are reachable in the Lakeland and Sarasota areas.

Zolfo Springs sits at the junction of U.S. Route 17 and State Road 64, at the geographic center of Hardee County. U.S. 17 runs north four miles to Wauchula, the county seat, and south twenty miles to Arcadia, crossing the Peace River in town. State Road 64 provides east-west access across the county toward the Gulf Coast and central Florida. Tampa and Sarasota are each about an hour away by car. There is no passenger rail or local transit system in town, so residents rely on personal vehicles, with Hardee County's rural road network linking the surrounding ranches and groves.

Recreation in Zolfo Springs centers on Pioneer Park and the Peace River. The county park, which dates to the 1930s, offers picnic areas, camping, playground space, and a scenic 1.1-mile loop trail along bluffs and forested floodplain above the Peace River. The Cracker Trail Museum on the grounds preserves pioneer-era artifacts and local history. The Peace River itself is known for kayaking, canoeing, and fossil hunting along its banks. Hardee Lakes, a county recreation area nearby, adds fishing and boating, and the region's ranches and natural areas offer hunting, wildlife viewing, and rural exploration.