Living in Ocean Ridge, Florida: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.2% above the U.S. average in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 8.8 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 Ocean Ridge 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Boynton Beach Community High, about 2 miles away.
A hospital close byBethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 53 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 Ocean Ridge 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

Ocean Ridge runs into the built-up area around Miami (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.

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.

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: $1,138,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Palm Beach County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,953 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $128,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 31%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 114.2U.S. average = 100 (the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, not Ocean Ridge 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: 1,8682020: 1,828
Median age: 64.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 49%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 7%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 80%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%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: Professional and business services (28%); schools, health care and social services (15%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 26%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: Bethesda Hospital East, Boynton Beach, FL, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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 Ocean Ridge, run by Palm Beach. The nearest public high school is Boynton Beach Community High, about 2 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.

Weather

January average low: 56°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 66 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 0 a year
Rain and melted snow: 63.6 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 13 feet

Weather station: Loxahatchee Nwr (11 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

Bethesda Hospital EastEmergency room2

Boynton Beach, FLCity of 82,0002

Miami, FLMetro of 6.4 million53

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: Bethesda Hospital East, Boynton Beach, Miami.

Palm Beach County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Big Cypress National Preserve55 miles
Biscayne National Park60 miles

Read about Ocean Ridge's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ocean Ridge?

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

San Castle, FL3,100 people, 3 miles
Hypoluxo, FL3,000 people, 3 miles
Lantana, FL12,400 people, 4 miles
South Palm Beach, FL1,500 people, 4 miles
Seminole Manor, FL2,700 people, 5 miles
Atlantis, FL2,100 people, 6 miles

Smaller places

Briny Breezes, FL533 people, 2 miles
Manalapan, FL445 people, 3 miles
Gulf Stream, FL986 people, 3 miles
Golf, FL271 people, 4 miles
Kenwood Estates, FL (unincorporated)1,263 people, 8 miles
Acacia Villas, FL (unincorporated)131 people, 9 miles
Pine Air, FL (unincorporated)2,258 people, 10 miles
Glen Ridge, FL217 people, 10 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.