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North River Shores, Florida

North River Shores is an unincorporated community of about 3,600 people in Martin County, Florida, in the Port St. Lucie area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 4.1 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, Miami, is about 100 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Port St. Lucie

Population
3,633
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$309,800
Martin County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$75,896
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Port St. Lucie area
100.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Stuart, FL
To Miami
100 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.2% above the U.S. average in the Port St. Lucie metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Jensen Beach High School, about 1 mile away.
  • A hospital close byCleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital in Stuart, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 100 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 North River Shores 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

North River Shores runs into the built-up area around Port St. Lucie (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
$309,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Martin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,136 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$75,896U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,916 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
25%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.2U.S. average = 100 (the Port St. Lucie 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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Port St. Lucie metro area, not North River Shores 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
3,633The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
58 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Under 18
20%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
5%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 (14%); professional and business services (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital, Stuart, FL, about 3 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

1 public school in North River Shores, run by Martin. The nearest public high school is Jensen Beach High School, about 1 mile 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
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%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
56°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
81 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
62.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
7 feet

Weather station: Stuart (3 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: Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital, Port St. Lucie, Miami.

Martin County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about North River Shores's history on Wikipedia.

Know North River Shores?

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

Smaller places

  • Rio, FL (unincorporated)1,232 people, 2 miles
  • Ocean Breeze, FL402 people, 3 miles

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.