Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ponce Inlet grades B− overall, 143rd among Florida's 634 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $102K. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $519K for a typical one and 7.3 times the Deltona metro’s $71K median household income. Ponce Inlet’s age of the median resident is 66.6 years, above both Florida’s towns (42.4 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Ponce Inlet's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Ponce Inlet is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Ponce Inlet beats most towns.
3,032 counted in 2010 and 3,364 in 2020; an estimated 3,470 in 2025.
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 Ponce Inlet is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Ponce De Leon Inlet Lightstation is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 328 in 1970, 3,364 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1835 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ponce Inlet. Close and well known come first.
38 mi Ancient siteWindover Archaeological Site
37 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Bounce House
in town LighthousePonce de Leon Inlet Light
11 mi MuseumMotorsports Hall of Fame of America
10 mi National SeashoreCanaveral National Seashore2.5M visitors a year
27 mi State parkBlue Spring State ParkWindover Archaeological Site: ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Acrisure Bounce House: DampFrijoles, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ponce de Leon Inlet Light: ErgoSum88, Public domain · Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: WillRStroh97, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Canaveral National Seashore: Joneboi at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Spring State Park: Rizka, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ponce Inlet, 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 Ponce Inlet.
Ponce Inlet is a second-home town and has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
Ponce Inlet: 17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. CDC measures, 31 in all: Ponce Inlet beats Florida on 18 and trails on 5. Two figures for adults in the town: 28% sleep under 7 hours, 86% had a checkup this year.
| Ponce Inlet | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 79% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ponce Inlet | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.8% | 16.8% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.1% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 16.8% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 7.3 years of the Deltona metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $519K) costs more against local pay than in 85% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The typical value, about $519K, is 13% below its September 2022 peak.
On the market in Ponce Inlet: a median 84 days to sell. The typical Ponce Inlet home is worth about $519,000, down 0.6% in a year, 38% above the Florida typical home. Its midpoint rent comes in at $1,851 a month.
| Ponce Inlet | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,851 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
25.6% of workers work from home, against 15.7% across Florida.
In Ponce Inlet, 5.9% of residents live below the poverty line. For most workers, Ponce Inlet is a place to come home to: only 8% work in town. Also worth knowing: its average commute stands at 28 minutes. The top destinations are Daytona Beach (14%), Port Orange (7%) and DeLand (5%).
| Ponce Inlet | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $102,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Deland 1 Sse weather station, 23 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 310 days, longer than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 50.6°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.6°.
Snowfall is close to zero. Its January low comes in at 51°F.
| Ponce Inlet | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 51°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
136 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 17 properties have flooded more than once.
Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1982: 136. In Ponce Inlet, the FEMA risk score is 67 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 52% come from hurricanes and 26% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Ponce Inlet after 12 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Walkers can cover 3.6 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Lighthouse Point Park, at 70 acres with 1.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. In Ponce Inlet, the concentration of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Ponce Inlet | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lighthouse Point Park | 1.7 mi | 70 |
| 2. Ponce Preserve Park | 1.2 mi | 51 |
| 3. Kay and Ares Davies Lighthouse Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. The level of violent crime for Ponce Inlet comes to 0.6 per 1,000 residents. Ponce Inlet's reported crime rate is well below Florida's.
| Ponce Inlet | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 18.1 | 14.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.9 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
4 within 15 miles of the center of Ponce Inlet
About 2 of every 100 Ponce Inlet residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
1.8% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
4 places in Ponce Inlet on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in the state of Florida, United States
Ponce Inlet is a town in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Halifax area. The population was 3,364 at the 2020 census. The town of Ponce Inlet is located on the southern tip of a barrier island, south of Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores. Several marinas are located in Ponce Inlet. The community is known for its strict land use regulations.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ponce Inlet.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponce Inlet | #143 | B− | D | — | B− | A− |
| New Smyrna Beach | #401 | C | D | — | B− | B |
| Port Orange | #390 | C | D | — | B− | B |
Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ponce Inlet with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ponce Inlet grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #143 of 634 in Florida. It grades A− for health and B− for schools. Cost of living 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.
