Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 4,467: a town settled in 1953.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Cost of living is its weak spot (D−) — the typical home is worth about $1.4 million, 18.7 years of the Sebastian metro’s $73K median household income. Its strongest is health (A−): residents are healthier than four fifths of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Schools are another plus: its schools rank ahead of 78% of Florida towns. Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns. It ranks 174th of 634 in Florida. On history, just 9 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse. On hazard risk, just 26 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Indian River Shores beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Indian River Shores | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3% | 13.9% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Indian River Shores is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 19 in 1960, 4,241 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2021 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Indian River Shores, 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 Indian River Shores.
Indian River Shores is a second-home town and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
At 18.7 years of the Sebastian metro’s $73K median household income, the typical home (about $1.38M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The typical value, about $1.38M, is 9% below its June 2024 peak.
Indian River Shores’ rent at the middle of the market is $2,185 a month, above both Florida’s towns ($1,647 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). The typical Indian River Shores home is worth about $1,378,000, down 1.3% in a year, 4 times the Florida typical home. On the market in the town: a median 122 days to sell.
| Indian River Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 98% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,185 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
51 flood insurance claims have been paid in Indian River Shores since 2004. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 96% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 85% come from hurricanes and 11% from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 2,388 U.S. towns with household incomes like Indian River Shores’s, it is less healthy than 76%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
4.3% of adults worry about having enough food in Indian River Shores. The share of adults in Indian River Shores who say their health is fair or poor is 15%, below both the Florida town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (19%). Also worth knowing: on the CDC’s 31 measures, Indian River Shores is ahead of Florida on 21 and behind on 6. Among 636 Florida towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Indian River Shores.
| Indian River Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 7.2% | 15% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Indian River Shores | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 2.1% | 8.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 21.6% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 53.7°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.3°. The Vero Beach 4se weather station records that about 56 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 92% of Florida places with climate records.
Snow almost never falls. Indian River Shores’ January low is 54°F.
| Indian River Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 54°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Indian River Shores has about as many jobs (1,128) as working residents, but only 33 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 12.7 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
The top destinations are Vero Beach (15%), Melbourne (2%) and Vero Beach South (2%). For most workers, Indian River Shores is a place to come home to: only 3% work in town. Indian River Shores’ typical household income stands at $156,000. Only one of the 638 Florida towns we compare has a lower average trip to work than Indian River Shores.
| Indian River Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $156,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1.0 miles of trail. Indian River Shores’ concentration of trails comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Indian River Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 12% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Indian River Shores's reported crime rate is well below Florida's. Of the 105 Florida towns we compare, none has a lower violent crime rate than Indian River Shores, and on top of that in Indian River Shores, the level of property crime is 3.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Indian River Shores | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 18.1 | 14.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.9 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Indian River Shores. Close and well known come first.
16 mi MuseumNational Navy UDT-SEAL Museum
27 mi Stadium & arenaFirst Data Field
7 mi GardenMcKee Botanical Garden
4 mi MuseumVero Beach Museum of Art
18 mi MuseumA. E. Backus Gallery & MuseumNational Navy UDT-SEAL Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · First Data Field: JoeCondon, Public domain · McKee Botanical Garden: Robert Lawton, CC BY 2.5 · Vero Beach Museum of Art: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · A. E. Backus Gallery & Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Indian River Shores; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Indian River Shores residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Town in the state of Florida, United States
Indian River Shores is a town in Indian River County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has a population of 4,241. Located on Orchid Island, a barrier island separating the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon, Indian River Shores is situated along the oceanfront directly north of Vero Beach. Indian River Shores predominantly consists of gated, low-density residential communities, with Florida State Road A1A serving as the main public roadway. The population nearly doubles from October until Easter. Indian River Shores is part of the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor Metropolitan Area, which is also the northernmost part of the South Florida Combined Statis…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Indian River Shores.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian River Shores | #174 | B− | D− | — | A− | A− |
| Vero Beach | #72 | B | D | A | A− | B+ |
| Wabasso Beach | — | — | D− | — | A− | A− |
Wabasso Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Indian River Shores and Wabasso Beach report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Indian River Shores with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Indian River Shores grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #174 of 634 in Florida. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,378,000, 267% above the Florida typical home and down 1.3% in a year. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
