Living in Gifford, Florida: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.7% below the U.S. average in the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Indian River Charter High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byCleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOrlando is about 78 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Gifford meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Gifford runs into the built-up area around Vero Beach (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $236,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 9.2%Indian River County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $892 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $33,175U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,780 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 98.3U.S. average = 100 (the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor metro area, not Gifford alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 4,668The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 31.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Retail (12%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (9%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, Vero Beach, FL, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Gifford, run by Indian River. The nearest public high school is Indian River Charter High School, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 78%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 54°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 56 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 2 a year
Rain and melted snow: 56.4 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 20 feet

Weather station: Vero Beach 4SE (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Cleveland Clinic Indian River HospitalEmergency room2

Fort Pierce, FLCity of 52,00018

Orlando, FLMetro of 3 million78

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, Fort Pierce, Orlando.

Indian River County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Gifford's history on Wikipedia.

Know Gifford?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Winter Beach, FL5,000 people, 3 miles
Vero Beach, FL17,600 people, 3 miles
Indian River Shores, FL4,500 people, 4 miles
Vero Beach South, FL30,000 people, 4 miles
West Vero Corridor, FL10,500 people, 5 miles
Sebastian, FL27,000 people, 8 miles

Smaller places

Wabasso, FL (unincorporated)1,467 people, 5 miles
Wabasso Beach, FL (unincorporated)2,262 people, 6 miles
Orchid, FL554 people, 7 miles
Windsor, FL (unincorporated)338 people, 8 miles
Roseland, FL (unincorporated)2,142 people, 12 miles
St. Lucie Village, FL642 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.