Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Palm Beach grades B overall, ranked 81st of 634 in Florida. It is healthier than 87% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $168K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $2.1 million, 27.9 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income. 70% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Palm Beach, against 31% in Florida’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Palm Beach is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 95% of U.S. towns. Palm Beach has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Henry Morrison Flagler House; Whitehall and Mar-A-Lago National Historic Landmark.
Where Palm Beach beats most towns.
Henry Morrison Flagler House; Whitehall is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,135 in 1920, 9,245 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1878 and 4 maps from 1946 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Palm Beach is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palm Beach. Close and well known come first.
in town MuseumFlagler Museum
35 mi Stadium & arenaChase Stadium
in town MuseumNorton Museum of Art
22 mi Stadium & arenaFAU Stadium17 mi Zoo & aquariumLion Country Safari3 mi Zoo & aquariumPalm Beach ZooFlagler Museum: Roger Wollstadt from Sarasota, Florida, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chase Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Norton Museum of Art: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · FAU Stadium: Jerseydem, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palm 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 Palm Beach.
Palm Beach draws workers from West Palm Beach and beyond, reports less crime than West Palm Beach or any other graded neighbor and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 27.9 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $2.14M) costs more against local pay than in any other Florida town; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Lake Worth Beach is next at $442K.
Palm Beach’s median rent is $2,311 a month. The typical Palm Beach home is worth about $2,138,000, up 3.8% in a year, 6 times the Florida typical home. 84% of Palm Beach households own their home.
| Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,311 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Palm Beach school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach Public SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 356 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
12 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden | 0.5 mi | 2 |
| 2. R. G. Kreusler Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
| 3. Seaview Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
15,420 jobs are based in Palm Beach, 6.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 10,808 in 2013 to 15,420.
Among 638 Florida towns, just 6 have a higher median household income than Palm Beach. 6.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Palm Beach. Jobs based in Palm Beach grew to 15,420 in 2023, 4,612 more than in 2013.
| Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $168,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.9% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A for health tops all 4 graded neighbors; Lantana (B+) comes closest. Against the 1,736 U.S. towns with household incomes like Palm Beach’s, it is less healthy than 72%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Only 2 of the 636 Florida towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have obesity than Palm Beach. Palm Beach beats the Florida average on 22 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. Only 3 of the 636 Florida towns we compare have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Palm Beach.
| Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 15% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Palm Beach | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.1% | 16.8% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 3.5% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 19% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
679 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 96 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 679 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palm Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 58.2°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.8°. The Loxahatchee Nwr weather station, 17 miles away, records that about 66 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 78% of Florida places with climate records.
Palm Beach has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Palm Beach is 58°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 58°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Its B− tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; West Palm Beach (D) comes closest. At 18.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 65% of Florida’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
6 within 15 miles of the center of Palm Beach
About 2 of every 100 Palm Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Coastal flooding makes up 26% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
39% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
12 places in Palm Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Palm Beach.
Town in Florida, United States
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island, the town is separated from West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway to its west and a small section of the Intracoastal Waterway and South Palm Beach to its south. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Palm Beach had a year-round population of 9,245. White Americans began to live in the area as early as 1872. Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick, later the town's first mayor, established Palm Beach's first hotel, the Cocoanut Grove House, in 1880, but Standard Oil tycoon Henry Flagler became instrumental in transforming the island's tropica…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Palm Beach.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Lantana (C+) comes closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach | #81 | B | D− | B− | B+ | A |
| Lantana | #241 | C+ | D | — | B+ | B+ |
| West Palm Beach | #455 | C− | D− | D | B+ | B− |
| Lake Worth Beach | #566 | D | D | D | B+ | C− |
| Riviera Beach | #557 | D | D | D− | B+ | C |
Lantana reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Palm Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Palm Beach grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #81 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $2,138,000, 469% above the Florida typical home and up 3.8% in a year. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
21 notable people were born here, including Henry Paulson and Skyler Gisondo.
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