Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 12,531 people was incorporated in 1926.
Jensen Beach’s lowest grade is for cost of living (C−) — the typical home is worth about $416K, 5.6 years of the Port St. Lucie metro’s $75K median household income. It lags on hazard risk as well — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Schools are its strong suit: its schools outperform 70% of the state's. Health is a strength too — residents are healthier than 67% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The overall grade lands at C, better than just over a third of U.S. towns. That places it 318th of 634 in Florida. This Florida town has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mount Elizabeth Archeological Site and Stuart Welcome Arch. 33% of residents are 65 or older in the town, above both Florida’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (18%).
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Jensen Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Jensen Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 11,100 in 2000, 12,652 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jensen Beach is unincorporated, so Martin County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Jensen Beach.
Jensen Beach is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Stuart and other neighbors.
101 flood insurance claims have been paid in Jensen Beach since 1979. FEMA puts nearly four fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 15% to inland flooding. Federal aid has come to Jensen Beach households in 7 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its one school is below. Enrollment at Jensen Beach’s public school: 611 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jensen Beach Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 611 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
The midpoint age in Jensen Beach is 56.3 years. Here, 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 34% in Florida as a whole. Jensen Beach: 14% of residents are under 18.
| Jensen Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 56.3 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 33% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 31% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Jensen Beach | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.1% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.1% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.8% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.8% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 17.3% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.5% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.5% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.6% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 10,591 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jensen Beach’s, it is healthier than 83%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
For adults in Jensen Beach, the share who report frequent physical distress is 15%. Of 31 CDC measures, Jensen Beach beats the Florida average on 11 and trails it on 6. 27% of adults in the town have obesity; 15% report frequent mental distress.
| Jensen Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 23% |
| What stands out | Jensen Beach | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.3% | 13.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.6% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.7% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 55.4°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.9°.
Jensen Beach’s January low stands at 55°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Jensen Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 55°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Across 4 parks and preserves: 2.1 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Savannas Preserve State Park, at 555 acres. Jensen Beach’s trail density comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Langford Park | 0.9 mi | 23 |
| 2. Savannas Preserve State Park | 0.8 mi | 555 |
| 3. Indian Riverside Park | 0.3 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jensen Beach has about as many jobs (4,579) as working residents, but only 412 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 2,814 in 2013 to 4,579.
For half of commuters, work is under 12 miles away. Jensen Beach had 4,579 jobs in 2023, up 1,765 from 2013. Only 8% of working residents stay in Jensen Beach for work; the rest commute out. In Jensen Beach, 17% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Jensen Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 18% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $416K, is 11% below its April 2024 peak.
Homes sold in Jensen Beach spent a median 63 days on the market. Zillow values the typical Jensen Beach home at about $416,000, down 1.4% in a year, 11% above the Florida typical home. In Jensen Beach, the midpoint rent is $1,267 a month.
| Jensen Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,267 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jensen Beach. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi LakeLake Okeechobee18 mi Ancient siteUrca de Lima
18 mi MuseumNational Navy UDT-SEAL Museum
12 mi Stadium & arenaFirst Data Field
39 mi MuseumFlagler Museum37 mi Zoo & aquariumLion Country SafariLake Okeechobee: NASA, Public domain · National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · First Data Field: JoeCondon, Public domain · Flagler Museum: Roger Wollstadt from Sarasota, Florida, CC BY-SA 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Jensen Beach
About 6 of every 100 Jensen Beach residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
3 places in Jensen Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Jensen Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,652 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Jensen Beach.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jensen Beach | #318 | C | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Ocean Breeze | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rio | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B− |
| Stuart | #492 | C− | C− | C− | B+ | B− |
| Sewall's Point | — | — | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Port St. Lucie | #512 | D | D | — | B− | B |
Rio and Sewall's Point have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Jensen Beach, Rio, Sewall's Point and Port St. Lucie report no FBI crime data of their own. Ocean Breeze isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Jensen Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jensen Beach grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #318 of 634 in Florida. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
Jensen Beach was incorporated in 1926 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including Jamien Sherwood and Lyon Richardson.
