Ocean CityFL
A town in Florida, home to 5,941 people.
Is Ocean City a good place to live?
Where it falls short is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $304K, 3.7 years of the Crestview metro’s $82K median household income. Ocean City’s overall grade is C+, better than nearly two fifths of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 260th of 634 in Florida. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Schools are its strong suit: its schools rank ahead of 76% of Florida towns. The town’s January low is 43°F, against 51°F in Florida’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B for health, B− for incomes and B− for walkability.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · health, CDC PLACES · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
Ocean City has grown 14% from 2010 to 2020
5,550 counted in 2010 and 6,314 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Ocean City grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Ocean City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Gulf Islands National Seashore and 9 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ocean City. Close and well known come first.
3 mi National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
3 mi MuseumAir Force Armament Museum23 mi Zoo & aquariumGulf Breeze Zoo
36 mi MuseumPensacola Museum of History
36 mi MuseumPensacola Museum of Art
25 mi MuseumBaker Block MuseumPhoto credits
Gulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · Air Force Armament Museum: Greg Goebel, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pensacola Museum of History: User:TheCustomOfLife, Public domain · Pensacola Museum of Art: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Baker Block Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Moving to Ocean City: who provides what
Ocean City is unincorporated, so Okaloosa 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ocean City.
Ocean City has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Natural hazards: very high risk in Ocean City, mostly hurricanes
Expected losses in Ocean City break down as 66% from hurricanes and 15% from inland flooding. Flood insurance has paid out on 227 claims in the town since 1982.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
With 0.7 jobs for every working resident, most of Ocean City’s workers commute out
The top destinations are Fort Walton Beach (20%), Wright (9%) and Destin (8%). Most people who work leave Ocean City to do it: just 5% work in town. The town had 1,795 jobs in 2023, up 201 from 2013. In Ocean City, the typical household income is $59,000.
| Ocean City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.7% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 9.2% | 11% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
More young adults than Florida overall
College graduates make up 27% of adults 25 and older, against 34% across Florida. Adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (21% statewide); people 65 and older are 14% of residents (21% statewide). For Ocean City, the midpoint age is 37.6 years.
| Ocean City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.6 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 31% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.1 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Ocean City | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.8% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 20% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.6% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.5% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.7% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.8% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.4% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.5% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Mild winters and hot summers in Ocean City
The Niceville weather station, 9 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 253 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. The Niceville weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 52 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 95% of Florida places with climate records.
The midsummer high in the town is 90°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On CDC estimates, Ocean City is healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
Against the 8,680 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ocean City’s, it is healthier than 84%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Ocean City: just over three quarters of adults had a checkup this year. Two figures for adults in the town: 19% have been diagnosed with depression, 18% report frequent mental distress.
| Ocean City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ocean City | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 13.4% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 11.6% | 13.5% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 17.9% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Ocean City has set aside 0.1% of its land for conservation
In 1 park or preserve, walkers have 0.5 miles of trail. Ocean City’s trail network density is 0.3 miles per square mile. It has one park or preserve, 9 acres in all.
| Ocean City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stillwell Park | 0.5 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Ocean City sells for about $360K
On the market in Ocean City: a median 60 days to sell. 58% of households live in a home they own in the town. The typical rent for Ocean City comes to $1,443 a month.
| Ocean City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,443 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Ocean City
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ocean City
About 5 of every 100 Ocean City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
95% of working residents leave Ocean City for work
Where Ocean City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Ocean City
CDP in Florida, United States
Ocean City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,314 at the 2020 census, up from 5,550 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 10 ft
- Area code
- 850
Ocean City’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Ocean City.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean City | #260 | C+ | C | — | A− | B |
| Wright | #258 | C+ | C | — | A− | C+ |
| Fort Walton Beach | #332 | C | C | C− | A− | B− |
Ocean City and Wright report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ocean City with a neighbor →
Questions about Ocean City
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ocean City, FL a good place to live?
Ocean City grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #260 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Ocean City, FL expensive?
The typical home is worth about $304,000, 19% below the Florida typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.