Palmetto Armory · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Palmetto costs more to live in than 71% of U.S. towns
It ranks #200 of 637 in Florida for affordability. Down 2.7% in a year, 7% below the Florida typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro area ($81K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Palmetto’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($81K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 22% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 58% of renters.
In dollars
- $350Ktypical home, 7% below the Florida typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,820a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 102prices across the North Port metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 128)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$81K, North Port-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 58%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Florida: 60%Census 2020–24
- 22%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Palmetto
Prices are 16% below their 2022 peak
The typical Palmetto home peaked at $415K in August 2022 and is worth about $350K now. Florida as a whole is 7% off its own peak. Over five years, Palmetto is still up 9.4%. Price trend ↓
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in May, it would take about 7.6 months to sell everything listed (Florida: 4.7). The typical home took 79 days to sell and sold at 98% of asking. Only 7.7% sold above the asking price. How fast homes sell ↓
A second-home town
21% of Palmetto’s homes are seasonal or vacation homes, empty for much of the year. Property taxes ↓
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Palmetto gained 717 residents while 115 new homes were permitted: about 6.2 new residents per new home, against 2.8 across Florida. New homes ↓
A burst of building in 2021
Palmetto permitted 64 new homes in 2021, against about 23 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 10. New homes ↓
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 Palmetto’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Palmetto is more affordable than 29% of U.S. towns, #200 of 637 in Florida. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have lagged Florida: the typical Palmetto home is up 9.4% in five years, against 18.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 9.4% in five years
Slower than Florida (18.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Palmetto | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $213,000 | $209,000 |
| 2018 | $227,000 | $226,000 |
| 2019 | $242,000 | $241,000 |
| 2020 | $252,000 | $252,000 |
| 2021 | $274,000 | $276,000 |
| 2022 | $350,000 | $339,000 |
| 2023 | $407,000 | $392,000 |
| 2024 | $401,000 | $402,000 |
| 2025 | $381,000 | $396,000 |
| 2026 | $355,000 | $377,000 |
| September 2026 | $350,000 | $375,000 |
A typical Palmetto home worth $209K in October 2016 is worth about $350K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 13 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 3.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Palmetto’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $29K short of a typical Palmetto home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,820 a month here, $240 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Palmetto’s typical property tax (0.76% 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 $1,820
Renters already here pay a median of $1,366, 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 (North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
10 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 10 new homes in Palmetto in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $5.9 million to build. That's 0.7 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Florida (8.3). Over the past 10 years, Palmetto has permitted 272 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Palmetto gained 717 residents while 115 new homes were permitted: about 6.2 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) | 7 | 7 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2025 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $5.9 million |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $9.7 million |
| 2023 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $17.5 million |
| 2022 | 47 | 47 | 0 | $39.5 million |
| 2021 | 64 | 64 | 0 | $21.4 million |
| 2020 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $12.3 million |
| 2019 | 60 | 60 | 0 | $37.4 million |
| 2018 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $886,000 |
| 2017 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $886,000 |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $443,000 |
| 2015 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2014 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.6 million |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | 5 | $404,000 |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | 5 | $404,000 |
| 2011 | 5 | 0 | 5 | $404,000 |
| 2010 | 6 | 1 | 5 | $476,000 |
| 2009 | 73 | 5 | 68 | $7.1 million |
| 2008 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $959,000 |
| 2007 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $4 million |
| 2006 | 248 | 51 | 197 | $76.1 million |
| 2005 | 341 | 153 | 188 | $94.8 million |
| 2004 | 144 | 144 | 0 | $26.3 million |
| 2003 | 129 | 87 | 42 | $21.6 million |
| 2002 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $5.7 million |
| 2001 | 65 | 65 | 0 | $9.2 million |
| 2000 | 64 | 64 | 0 | $6.2 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $2,393, under the Florida median of $2,730, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 0.76% 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 Palmetto
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, 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 | 102 | 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.
Palmetto vs. its neighbors
Of the 2 towns here with a Zillow value, Palmetto has the lowest. Memphis has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmetto | C | $350K | $313K | 0.76% | $1,820 |
| Memphis | B− | — | $314K | 0.59% | $1,820 |
| Ellenton | B− | $388K | $281K | 0.49% | $1,770 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Palmetto
Is Palmetto expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Palmetto costs more than 71% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #200 of 637 in Florida. The typical home costs 3.9 years of the median household income of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL metro area ($81K).
How much does a house cost in Palmetto?
About $350K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 2.7% in a year. The Florida typical home is $375K.
What salary do you need to live in Palmetto?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $88,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,060 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $73,000.
How much is rent in Palmetto?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,820 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,366 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Palmetto?
The median bill is $2,393 a year, 0.76% of the median home value (Florida: $2,730, 0.76%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Palmetto going up?
No: down 2.7% in the past year and 9.4% in five years, against 18.6% across Florida (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Palmetto 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.