Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
New Smyrna Beach grades C overall, ranked 401st of 634 in Florida, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 45 miles of trail. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $454K for a typical one and 6.4 times the Deltona metro’s $71K median household income. 35% of residents are 65 or older in New Smyrna Beach, against 20% in Florida’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. On history, just 15 of Florida’s 779 towns do better. Smyrna Dunes Park, at 195 acres with 3.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where New Smyrna Beach beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1768, comes before those of 99% of the Florida towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 119 in 1880, 30,142 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far New Smyrna Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Smyrna Beach. Close and well known come first.
35 mi Ancient siteWindover Archaeological Site
32 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Bounce House
39 mi MuseumKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
13 mi MuseumMotorsports Hall of Fame of America
4 mi LighthousePonce de Leon Inlet Light
7 mi National SeashoreCanaveral National Seashore2.5M visitors a yearWindover Archaeological Site: ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Acrisure Bounce House: DampFrijoles, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Bill White, Public domain · Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: WillRStroh97, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ponce de Leon Inlet Light: ErgoSum88, Public domain · Canaveral National Seashore: Joneboi at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Smyrna Beach, 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 New Smyrna Beach.
New Smyrna Beach 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.
New Smyrna Beach’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile.
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Smyrna Dunes Park | 3.4 mi | 195 |
| 2. Marine Discovery Park | 0.9 mi | 24 |
| 3. Holland Park | 0.8 mi | 46 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Volusia school district. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Smyrna Beach Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,036 | C+ |
| New Smyrna Beach High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,687 | C+ |
| Coronado Beach Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 242 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
19.5% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 7.8% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 35% of residents (21% statewide); children under 18 are 11% of residents (20% statewide). The median age in New Smyrna Beach is 57.8 years. New Smyrna Beach has grown 9.7% since 2020, to 33,182 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 57.8 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 11% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 31% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.4 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 57.5, men 58.2.
| New Smyrna Beach | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.3% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.4% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.7% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.8% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.4% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.6% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.1% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.3% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
January nights average 50.9°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.6°. The Sanford weather station, 25 miles away, records that about 109 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 97% of Florida places with climate records.
New Smyrna Beach has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 51°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 6.4 years of the Deltona metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $454K) costs more against local pay than in 77% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The typical New Smyrna Beach home is worth about $454,000, up 1% in a year, 21% above the Florida typical home.
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,712 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 72% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
New Smyrna Beach beats the Florida average on 13 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 43% of adults have high blood pressure in New Smyrna Beach.
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | New Smyrna Beach | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.8% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.6% | 16.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.9% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
966 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 112 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 966 flood insurance claims have been paid out in New Smyrna Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
New Smyrna Beach has about as many jobs (11,376) as working residents, but only 2,286 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 7,021 in 2013 to 11,376.
About one in 5 of New Smyrna Beach’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, New Smyrna Beach has added 4,355 jobs, to 11,376 in 2023. The top destinations are Daytona Beach (10%), DeLand (7%) and Edgewater (5%).
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.2% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $84,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
New Smyrna Beach's reported crime rate is below Florida's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 53 violent crimes were reported in 2022.
| New Smyrna Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 8.4 per 1,000 residents | 18.1 | 14.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.9 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
4 within 15 miles of the center of New Smyrna Beach
About 5 of every 100 New Smyrna Beach residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
22,464 counted in 2010 and 30,142 in 2020; an estimated 33,182 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.7% since 2020, after 34.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 places in New Smyrna Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in New Smyrna Beach.
City in Florida, United States
New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The downtown section of the city is located on the west side of the Indian River and the Indian River Lagoon system. The Coronado Beach Bridge crosses the Intracoastal Waterway just south of Ponce de Leon Inlet, connecting the mainland with the beach on the coastal barrier island. The population was 30,142 at the 2020 census; according to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 32,655. The surrounding area offers many opportunities for outdoor recreation; these include fishing, sailing, motorboating, golfing, …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with New Smyrna Beach.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Port Orange (C) is closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Smyrna Beach | #401 | C | D | — | B− | B |
| Glencoe | — | — | C+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Ponce Inlet | #143 | B− | D | — | B− | A− |
| Edgewater | #349 | C | C+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Port Orange | #390 | C | D | — | B− | B |
| Samsula-Spruce Creek | #296 | C+ | D− | — | B− | B+ |
Glencoe has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. New Smyrna Beach, Glencoe, Ponce Inlet, Edgewater, Port Orange and Samsula-Spruce Creek report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare New Smyrna Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
New Smyrna Beach grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #401 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and B− for schools. Cost of living 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 D.
15 notable people were born here, including Walter M. Miller and Raheem Mostert.
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