Photo: Sallicio · Public domainThe nearest town with a Safety Grade to Merritt Island is Cocoa, 7 miles away
Inside a 10-mile circle, only Cocoa carries a grade. Merritt Island has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Brevard County. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Merritt Island alone, and no Safety Grade. A 25-mile circle around it holds 6 towns with a grade.
What stands out about safety in Merritt Island
Policed by the county
Merritt Island is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Merritt Island. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Florida towns with their own police figures are Cocoa (D, 7 mi), Satellite Beach (A−, 10 mi), Indian Harbour Beach (B+, 11 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Merritt Island. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Brevard County without police of their own, which include Merritt Island.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Florida towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa | D | 7 mi | 8.8 | 26.9 |
| Satellite Beach | A− | 10 mi | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| Indian Harbour Beach | B+ | 11 mi | 1.5 | 5.1 |
| West Melbourne | B− | 18 mi | 1.6 | 11.1 |
| Titusville | C | 20 mi | 4.3 | 10.7 |
| Palm Bay | C+ | 25 mi | 3.1 | 9.5 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Merritt Island. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Merritt Island.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
24 people died in crashes on Merritt Island’s roads in 2019–2023
Merritt Island had 23 fatal crashes in five years, in which 24 people died; 10 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists.
That is 13.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Florida towns of 25,000–100,000 people (9.7, 147 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Merritt Island and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Patrick Shores | — | — | — |
| Cocoa Beach | — | — | — |
| Indian Harbour Beach | B+ | 1.5 | 5.1 |
| North Merritt Island | — | — | — |
| Cocoa | D | 8.8 | 26.9 |
| Rockledge | — | — | — |
| Melbourne | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. South Patrick Shores and North Merritt Island are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Cocoa Beach, Rockledge and Melbourne have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Merritt Island
Is Merritt Island, FL safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Merritt Island. The nearest Florida towns with a grade are Cocoa (D, 7 mi), Satellite Beach (A−, 10 mi), Indian Harbour Beach (B+, 11 mi).
Who polices Merritt Island?
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. Merritt Island is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Brevard County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Merritt Island.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.