Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cocoa grades C− overall, ranked 466th of 634 in Florida, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, including 185 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Cocoa’s violent crime rate is 9.2 per 1,000 residents, against 2.1 in Florida’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Cocoa has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Porcher House and Cocoa Junior High School. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 87% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Cocoa beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Endeavour Elementary School | PK–6 | 732 |
| Cambridge Elementary Magnet School | PK–6 | 477 |
| Emma Jewel Charter Academy | K–8 | 339 |
17,140 counted in 2010 and 19,041 in 2020; an estimated 19,777 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Cocoa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 312 in 1890, 19,041 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cocoa. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Ancient siteWindover Archaeological Site
11 mi MuseumKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
39 mi Stadium & arenaKia Center
31 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Bounce House
40 mi Stadium & arenaInter&Co Stadium
11 mi LandmarkSpace Mirror MemorialWindover Archaeological Site: ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Bill White, Public domain · Kia Center: 350z33 (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Acrisure Bounce House: DampFrijoles, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Inter&Co Stadium: Porsche997SBS, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Space Mirror Memorial: Seth Buckley, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cocoa, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Cocoa.
Cocoa has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports violent crime at 4 times the Florida rate and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Violent crime runs at 9.2 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the Florida rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Reported crimes rose from 537 to 676 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Cocoa’s property crime rate is 24.4 per 1,000 residents. Cocoa reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 94% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Brevard school district. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Cocoa High School, with 1,432 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endeavour Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 732 | D |
| Cocoa High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 1,432 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
8.2 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Bracco Pond Park, at 69 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Cocoa | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bracco Pond Park | 1.5 mi | 69 |
| 2. Riverfront Park | 0.6 mi | 6 |
| 3. Lee Wenner Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
62 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1986, 62 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cocoa.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cocoa beats the Florida average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 41% of Cocoa adults have high blood pressure.
| Cocoa | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Cocoa | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 15.5% | 12.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Cocoa home is worth about $297,000, up 0.5% in a year, 21% below the Florida typical home. 64% of households own their home in Cocoa.
| Cocoa | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,274 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 52.9°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90°.
Cocoa has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Cocoa is 53°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Cocoa | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 53°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 7,674 in 2013 to 10,633.
Most working residents leave Cocoa for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Cocoa has added 2,959 jobs, to 10,633 in 2023. The top destinations are Rockledge (7%), Palm Bay (7%) and Melbourne (6%).
| Cocoa | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 9.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.8% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Florida average. Cocoa has grown 4.1% since 2020, to 19,777 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Florida.
| Cocoa | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 44.9 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 31% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Cocoa | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.5% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.6% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.9% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.5% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.6% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.6% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
None within 15 miles of Cocoa; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Cocoa residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
4 places in Cocoa on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Cocoa.
City in Florida, US
Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. Its population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States census, up from 17,140 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Cocoa.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Cocoa West (C−) is closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa | #466 | C− | C+ | D | B+ | C |
| Cocoa West | #430 | C− | B | — | B+ | D− |
| Rockledge | #181 | B− | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Sharpes | #292 | C+ | B | — | B+ | C− |
| Merritt Island | #125 | B | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
Cocoa West, Rockledge, Sharpes and Merritt Island report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cocoa with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cocoa grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #466 of 634 in Florida. It grades C for health, D for safety and B+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($78,476 across the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
11 notable people were born here, including Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Jamel Dean.
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