Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of South Palm Beach’s subject grades is an A for safety; the weakest is a D for cost of living. South Palm Beach’s January low is 59°F, above both Florida’s towns (51°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). On safety, just 5 of Florida’s 134 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. South Palm Beach's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. South Palm Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where South Palm Beach beats most towns.
| Widest gap | South Palm Beach | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.8% | 13.9% |
1,171 counted in 2010 and 1,471 in 2020; an estimated 1,488 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 South Palm Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 113 in 1960, 1,471 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2003 and 3 maps from 1945 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Palm Beach. Close and well known come first.
35 mi Stadium & arenaAmerant Bank Arena
29 mi Stadium & arenaChase Stadium
9 mi MuseumFlagler Museum
15 mi Stadium & arenaFAU Stadium
8 mi MuseumNorton Museum of Art35 mi Theme parkWannado CityAmerant Bank Arena: Yanjipy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chase Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Flagler Museum: Roger Wollstadt from Sarasota, Florida, CC BY-SA 2.0 · FAU Stadium: Jerseydem, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Norton Museum of Art: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in South 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 South Palm Beach.
Among 133 Florida towns, just 6 have a lower property offense rate than South Palm Beach. South Palm Beach reports less crime per resident than 86% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. No violent crime was reported here.
| South Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Half the trips to work are shorter than 18 miles. Since 2013, South Palm Beach has lost 62 jobs, to 50 in 2023. Just 1% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The average trip to work locally is 36 minutes.
| South Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 36 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For adults in South Palm Beach, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 17%. This Florida town does better than the Florida average on 18 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 6. In South Palm Beach, nearly one in ten adults binge drink, and 87% had a checkup this year.
| South Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 87% | 79% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | South Palm Beach | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.8% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.1% | 16.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 17.8% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
31 flood insurance claims have been paid in South Palm Beach since 1979. Compared with nearly three quarters of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 50% come from hurricanes and 23% from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For South Palm Beach, the midsummer high is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A home in South Palm Beach typically sold within 135 days of listing. Home values are up 3.8% over the year to September 2026. Also worth knowing: its rent at the middle of the market is $1,868 a month.
| South Palm Beach | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,868 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of South Palm Beach
About 2 of every 100 South Palm Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Coastal flooding makes up 22% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Town in the state of Florida, United States
South Palm Beach is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The town is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is situated on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. The entire town is approximately 5⁄8 of a mile (1.0 km) long along South Ocean Boulevard (Florida State Road A1A), its only street. It is between the Town of Palm Beach to the north and the Town of Lantana and its public beach to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,471.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with South Palm Beach.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Palm Beach | — | — | D | A | B+ | B+ |
| Lantana | #241 | C+ | D | — | B+ | B+ |
South Palm Beach has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lantana reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare South Palm Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 5 years of the area's median household income ($76,527 across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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