Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,371, settled in 1914.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades B−, 183rd of 634 graded towns in Florida. It is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $622K, 8.4 years of the Port St. Lucie metro’s $75K median household income. Palm City’s January low is 56°F, above both Florida’s towns (51°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). On history, just 75 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Justin Wilson Park, at 64 acres.
Where Palm City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
23,120 counted in 2010 and 25,883 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Palm City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 20,097 in 2000, 25,883 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2010 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
Palm City is unincorporated, so Martin 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Palm City.
Palm City has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has less food insecurity than most of Florida, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
At 8.4 years of the Port St. Lucie metro’s $75K median household income, the typical home (about $622K) costs more against local pay than in 90% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The median property tax bill is $4,643, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow values the typical Palm City home at about $622,000, up 2% in a year, 66% above the Florida typical home. In Palm City, the rent at the middle of the market is $2,013 a month. Also worth knowing: homes in Palm City sold for 95.8% of their list price on average.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. Its public schools are run by the Martin school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hidden Oaks Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 920 | A |
| Bessey Creek Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 594 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Florida is food insecurity: 7.9% of its 20,704 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.8% statewide. That grade tops all 3 graded neighbors; North River Shores (A−) comes closest.
In Palm City, 9.3% of adults smoke cigarettes. Of 31 CDC measures, Palm City beats the Florida average on 19 and trails it on 3. Two figures for adults in the town: 25% have obesity, 14% report frequent mental distress.
| Palm City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 37% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Palm City | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 16.8% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 12.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.3% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
304 flood insurance claims have been paid in Palm City since 1978. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 71% come from hurricanes and 22% from inland flooding. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 4,113 in 2013 to 6,054. 24.7% of workers work from home, against 15.7% across Florida.
Among workers in Palm City, 25% work from home. Only 9% of working residents stay in Palm City for work; the rest commute out. Employers in Palm City added 1,941 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 6,054. The town’s typical household income comes in at $126,000.
| Palm City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $126,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 55.5°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90°.
Snow almost never falls. Its July high stands at 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
There are 2.5 miles of trail across 5 parks and preserves. For Palm City, the trail network density is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Palm City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Justin Wilson Park | — | 64 |
| 2. Pendarvis Park | — | 43 |
| 3. Danforth Park | — | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palm City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi LakeLake Okeechobee23 mi Ancient siteUrca de Lima
36 mi MuseumFlagler Museum
12 mi Stadium & arenaFirst Data Field
22 mi MuseumNational Navy UDT-SEAL Museum32 mi Zoo & aquariumLion Country SafariLake Okeechobee: NASA, Public domain · Flagler Museum: Roger Wollstadt from Sarasota, Florida, CC BY-SA 2.0 · First Data Field: JoeCondon, Public domain · National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Palm City
About 5 of every 100 Palm City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Where Palm City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Palm City is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 25,883 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Palm City.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; North River Shores (C) comes closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm City | #183 | B− | D | — | B+ | A |
| North River Shores | #362 | C | D | — | B+ | A− |
| Stuart | #492 | C− | C− | C− | B+ | B− |
| Port St. Lucie | #512 | D | D | — | B− | B |
Palm City, North River Shores and Port St. Lucie report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Palm City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palm City grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #183 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk 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.
