Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 148,092, settled in 1925. Public schools that outperform most of Florida.
Palm Bay is a city of 148,092, and it grades C overall, 334th among Florida's 634 graded towns. Its schools rank ahead of 74% of Florida towns. The trade-off: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Palm Bay’s January low is 51°F, close to Florida’s towns (51°F) and above U.S. towns (22°F). Palm Bay's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Three Forks Conservation Area, at 936 acres.
Where Palm Bay beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Westside Elementary School | PK–6 | 984 |
| Sunrise Elementary School | PK–6 | 907 |
| Jupiter Elementary School | PK–6 | 856 |
103,190 counted in 2010 and 119,760 in 2020; an estimated 148,092 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 23.7% since 2020, after 16.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Palm Bay is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,808 in 1960, 119,760 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1981 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palm Bay, 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 Palm Bay.
Palm Bay fares better on crime within Florida than nationally, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak.
| Palm Bay | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Turkey Creek Sanctuary | 4.8 mi | 140 |
| 2. Grapefruit Bike Trails | 1.2 mi | 28 |
| 3. Fred Poppe Regional Park | 0.7 mi | 209 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Brevard school district. Three of its 25 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 997 | C+ |
| Bayside High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,122 | C− |
| Pineapple Cove Classical AcademyTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 1,065 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
151 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 18 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1995, 151 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palm Bay.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 16,880 in 2013 to 34,231.
Most working residents leave Palm Bay for work: only 19% work in town. Jobs based in Palm Bay grew to 34,231 in 2023, 17,351 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Melbourne (23%), West Melbourne (5%) and Rockledge (4%).
| Palm Bay | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Melbourne Wfo weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 76 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 51.2°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.2°.
Palm Bay has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Palm Bay’s July high is 90°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $303K, is 9% below its September 2022 peak.
The typical Palm Bay home is worth about $303,000, down 1.2% in a year, 19% below the Florida typical home. The median rent in Palm Bay is $1,601 a month.
| Palm Bay | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 72% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 60% | 59% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,601 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Palm Bay beats the Florida average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of Palm Bay adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Palm Bay | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Palm Bay | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 14.5% | 12.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 22 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 56% of Florida’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,798 to 1,631 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palm Bay. Close and well known come first.
39 mi MuseumKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex38 mi Ancient siteUrca de Lima
39 mi LandmarkSpace Mirror Memorial
19 mi Zoo & aquariumBrevard Zoo
39 mi MuseumNational Navy UDT-SEAL Museum
39 mi MuseumUnited States Astronaut Hall of FameKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Bill White, Public domain · Space Mirror Memorial: Seth Buckley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brevard Zoo: Rusty Clark from merritt usland FLA, CC BY 2.0 · National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United States Astronaut Hall of Fame: Håkan Dahlström from Malmö, Sweden, CC BY 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Palm Bay
About 6 of every 100 Palm Bay residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
4 notable people were born in Palm Bay.
City in Florida, United States
Palm Bay is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 119,760 at the 2020 United States census, up from 103,190 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous city in the county and the largest by land mass. The historic section of the city lies on the mouth of the Turkey Creek and the Palm Bay. Palm Bay has historically expanded south and to the west. The newer section is mostly situated west of Interstate 95 and south of the Tillman Canal. Palm Bay is a principal city of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 606,612 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Palm Bay.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Bay | #334 | C | C | C+ | B+ | C+ |
| Grant-Valkaria | #201 | B− | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Malabar | #16 | A− | B− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Melbourne | #245 | C+ | C− | — | B+ | B− |
| West Melbourne | #97 | B | C− | B− | B+ | A− |
| Micco | #339 | C | B− | — | B+ | C+ |
Grant-Valkaria, Malabar, Melbourne and Micco report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Palm Bay with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palm Bay grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #334 of 634 in Florida. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.9 years of the area's median household income ($78,476 across the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
4 notable people were born here, including Xavier Carter and Kristina Teachout.
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