Photo: Excel23 · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Palm Bay costs more to live in than 67% of U.S. towns
It ranks #172 of 637 in Florida and #79 of 400 U.S. cities over 100,000 for affordability. Down 1.2% in a year, 19% below the Florida typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro area ($78K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Palm Bay’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($78K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 25% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 60% of renters.
In dollars
- $303Ktypical home, 19% below the Florida typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,840a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 100prices across the Palm Bay metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 112)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$78K, Palm Bay-area income
- 24%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 60%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Florida: 60%Census 2020–24
- 25%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Palm Bay
Prices are 9% below their 2022 peak
The typical Palm Bay home peaked at $332K in September 2022 and is worth about $303K now. Florida as a whole is 7% off its own peak. Over five years, Palm Bay is still up 15%. Price trend ↓
Building at more than twice the Florida pace
Builders were permitted 2,455 new homes in 2025: 19 per 1,000 residents, against 8.3 across Florida. That’s 16,984 in the past 10 years. New homes ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Palm Bay home runs about $1,740 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,840. The hurdle is getting in: the down payment, and a budget at the median income that falls short of the typical home. Can I afford it? ↓
Prices vary a lot across the town lines
Typical values in the towns next door run from $207K in Micco to $542K in Grant-Valkaria. At $303K, Palm Bay is the 5th most expensive of the 6. Vs. neighbors ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Palm Bay’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Palm Bay is more affordable than 33% of U.S. towns, #172 of 637 in Florida. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Florida: up 15.1% in five years, against 18.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 15.1% in five years
Slower than Florida (18.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Palm Bay | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $162,000 | $209,000 |
| 2018 | $182,000 | $226,000 |
| 2019 | $196,000 | $241,000 |
| 2020 | $204,000 | $252,000 |
| 2021 | $228,000 | $276,000 |
| 2022 | $283,000 | $339,000 |
| 2023 | $325,000 | $392,000 |
| 2024 | $328,000 | $402,000 |
| 2025 | $319,000 | $396,000 |
| 2026 | $305,000 | $377,000 |
| September 2026 | $303,000 | $375,000 |
A typical Palm Bay home worth $157K in October 2016 is worth about $303K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A balanced market
About 4.7 months of supply: neither buyers nor sellers have a clear edge.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A year’s rent takes 24% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Palm Bay’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Palm Bay home, with $13K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,840 a month here, $100 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Palm Bay’s typical property tax (0.61% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,840
Renters already here pay a median of $1,601, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
2,455 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 2,455 new homes in Palm Bay in 2025: 1,908 single-family houses and 547 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $745.8 million to build. That's 19 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Florida (8.3). Over the past 10 years, Palm Bay has permitted 16,984 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Palm Bay gained 16,570 residents while 3,512 new homes were permitted: about 4.7 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Florida: 2.8 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 1,579 | 1,579 | 0 | $588.8 million |
| 2025 | 2,455 | 1,908 | 547 | $745.8 million |
| 2024 | 3,062 | 2,402 | 660 | $953.5 million |
| 2023 | 2,716 | 2,716 | 0 | $1.1 billion |
| 2022 | 2,523 | 2,255 | 268 | $749.8 million |
| 2021 | 2,486 | 2,486 | 0 | $674.1 million |
| 2020 | 1,278 | 1,278 | 0 | $334.1 million |
| 2019 | 782 | 782 | 0 | $201.8 million |
| 2018 | 689 | 689 | 0 | $159 million |
| 2017 | 564 | 564 | 0 | $135.5 million |
| 2016 | 429 | 429 | 0 | $103.5 million |
| 2015 | 323 | 323 | 0 | $77.7 million |
| 2014 | 162 | 162 | 0 | $36.1 million |
| 2013 | 157 | 157 | 0 | $36.5 million |
| 2012 | 134 | 134 | 0 | $33.4 million |
| 2011 | 125 | 125 | 0 | $30.1 million |
| 2010 | 147 | 147 | 0 | $31.5 million |
| 2009 | 203 | 131 | 72 | $37 million |
| 2008 | 534 | 392 | 142 | $91.4 million |
| 2007 | 739 | 739 | 0 | $148 million |
| 2006 | 1,771 | 1,764 | 7 | $347.8 million |
| 2005 | 3,349 | 3,349 | 0 | $628.5 million |
| 2004 | 2,233 | 2,233 | 0 | $409.3 million |
| 2003 | 1,496 | 1,496 | 0 | $234.8 million |
| 2002 | 1,136 | 966 | 170 | $147.3 million |
| 2001 | 1,025 | 789 | 236 | $106.7 million |
| 2000 | 530 | 530 | 0 | $57 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Florida norm
The median bill is $1,726 (Florida: $2,730), 0.61% of a home’s value a year, against 0.76% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Palm Bay
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro area, or Florida. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 100 | FL 103 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | FL 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 88 | FL 90 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | FL 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Palm Bay vs. its neighbors
Of the 6 towns here with a Zillow value, Palm Bay has the 2nd-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Bay | C | $303K | $283K | 0.61% | $1,840 |
| Grant-Valkaria | C− | $542K | $550K | 0.67% | $1,910 |
| Malabar | B− | $536K | $451K | 0.57% | $2,100 |
| Melbourne | C− | $358K | $306K | 0.68% | $1,870 |
| West Melbourne | C− | $373K | $377K | 0.66% | $2,080 |
| Micco | B− | $207K | $173K | 1.00% | $1,570 |
Questions about the cost of living in Palm Bay
Is Palm Bay expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Palm Bay costs more than 67% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #172 of 637 in Florida. The typical home costs 3.6 years of the median household income of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro area ($78K).
How much does a house cost in Palm Bay?
About $303K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 1.2% in a year. The Florida typical home is $375K.
What salary do you need to live in Palm Bay?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $75,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,740 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $74,000.
How much is rent in Palm Bay?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,840 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,601 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Palm Bay?
The median bill is $1,726 a year, 0.61% of the median home value (Florida: $2,730, 0.76%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Palm Bay going up?
No: down 1.2% in the past year and 15.1% in five years, against 18.6% across Florida (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Palm Bay buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.