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Towns / Florida

Mexico Beach, Florida

Mexico Beach is a tourist town of about 1,300 people in Bay County, Florida. It's growing fast: its population is up 39% since 2020. A typical home costs about 7.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tampa, is about 224 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townBoom town

Population
1,275
up 39% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$466,300
Bay County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$63,864
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Panama City area
97.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
Port Saint Joe, FL
To Tampa
224 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.7% below the U.S. average in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Mexico Beach itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Port St. Joe High School, about 13 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAscension Sacred Heart Gulf in Port Saint Joe, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTampa is about 224 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 Mexico Beach 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

Tourist town. About 1 in 3 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

Boom town. The population is up 39% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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
$466,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Bay County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,951 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$63,864U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,947 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
27%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
35%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.3U.S. average = 100 (the Panama City-Panama City Beach 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 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro area, not Mexico Beach 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, 2025 estimate
1,2752020: 919
Median age
60.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
38%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
9%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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
Schools, health care and social services (19%); professional and business services (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Work from home
21%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ascension Sacred Heart Gulf, Port Saint Joe, FL, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

There are no public schools inside Mexico Beach itself. The nearest public high school is Port St. Joe High School, about 13 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
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
40°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
68 a year
Nights at or below freezing
23 a year
Rain and melted snow
63.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
8 feet

Weather station: Wewahitchka (17 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

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: Ascension Sacred Heart Gulf, Tallahassee, Tampa.

Bay 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 Mexico Beach's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mexico Beach?

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

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.