Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Melbourne grades B overall, 97th among Florida's 634 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $372K, 4.7 years of the Palm Bay metro’s $78K median household income. On history, just 7 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse. West Melbourne’s January low is 53°F, close to Florida’s towns (51°F) and above U.S. towns (22°F). FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where West Melbourne beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Meadowlane Intermediate Elementary School | 3–6 | 779 |
| Imagine Schools at West Melbourne | K–7 | 665 |
| W. Melbourne Elementary School for Science | PK–6 | 605 |
18,355 counted in 2010 and 25,924 in 2020; an estimated 31,285 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 20.6% since 2020, after 41.2% in the decade before.
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 West Melbourne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,266 in 1960, 25,924 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Melbourne, 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 West Melbourne.
West Melbourne fares better on crime within Florida than nationally, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Melbourne and other neighbors.
7.1 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Max K Rodes Park, at 118 acres.
| West Melbourne | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Space Coast Field of Dreams | 1.2 mi | 17 |
| 2. Erna Nixon Park | 0.6 mi | 51 |
| 3. Max K Rodes Park | 0.3 mi | 118 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Brevard school district. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 1,059 | B− |
| Pineapple Cove Classical Academy at West MelbourneLargest public high schoolGrades K–10 | Grades K–10 | 832 | A |
| W. Melbourne Elementary School for ScienceTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 605 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
110 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1995, 110 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Melbourne.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Florida is food insecurity: 10.5% of its 20,542 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.8% statewide.
34% of West Melbourne adults sleep under 7 hours. West Melbourne beats the Florida average on 15 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 13% of West Melbourne adults report frequent physical distress.
| West Melbourne | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 20% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | West Melbourne | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.5% | 16.8% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 52.5°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.8°. The Melbourne Wfo weather station records that about 76 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 89% of Florida places with climate records.
West Melbourne has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. West Melbourne’s July high is 90°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
West Melbourne has about as many jobs (10,847) as working residents, but only 728 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 7,503 in 2013 to 10,847.
Most working residents leave West Melbourne for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, West Melbourne has added 3,344 jobs, to 10,847 in 2023. The average trip to work in West Melbourne is 23 minutes.
| West Melbourne | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Florida average. 42% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in West Melbourne. West Melbourne has grown 21% since 2020, to 31,285 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| West Melbourne | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 31% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.4 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 62% are men (FL 51%).
| West Melbourne | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.7% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.8% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.8% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.6% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.7% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.3% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 17.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 65% of Florida’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 421 to 355 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $373K, is 9% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical West Melbourne home is worth about $373,000, down 0.8% in a year, close to the Florida typical home.
| West Melbourne | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,845 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 72% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Melbourne. Close and well known come first.
36 mi Ancient siteWindover Archaeological Site
33 mi MuseumKennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
33 mi LandmarkSpace Mirror Memorial
13 mi Zoo & aquariumBrevard Zoo
33 mi MuseumUnited States Astronaut Hall of Fame
5 mi MuseumAmerican Muscle Car MuseumWindover Archaeological Site: ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Bill White, Public domain · Space Mirror Memorial: Seth Buckley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brevard Zoo: Rusty Clark from merritt usland FLA, CC BY 2.0 · United States Astronaut Hall of Fame: Håkan Dahlström from Malmö, Sweden, CC BY 2.0 · American Muscle Car Museum: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of West Melbourne
About 6 of every 100 West Melbourne residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
City in Florida, United States
West Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It was created in 1959 to stop the area from being annexed into the city of Melbourne. Since 2000, the city has experienced the highest population growth percentage of any municipality in Brevard County. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, West Melbourne had a population of 25,924.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with West Melbourne.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; June Park (B) comes closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Melbourne | #97 | B | C− | B− | B+ | A− |
| June Park | #108 | B | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| Melbourne | #245 | C+ | C− | — | B+ | B− |
| Melbourne Village | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Palm Bay | #334 | C | C | C+ | B+ | C+ |
June Park and Melbourne report no FBI crime data of their own. Melbourne Village isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Melbourne with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Melbourne grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #97 of 634 in Florida. It grades A− for health, B− for safety 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 C−.
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