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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Palm Beach to say.
- A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Palm 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 town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
- A hospital close byGood Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 64 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 Palm 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
Palm Beach 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 39% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, 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
- $2,000,000 or moreU.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 19%Palm Beach County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $2,311 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $168,403U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 84%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $10,000 or more a yearFlorida: $2,730
- Homes built before 1940
- 12%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 4%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 39%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 Palm 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
- 9,4232020: 9,238
- Median age
- 70.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 63%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 5%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 70%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 3%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%); finance, insurance and real estate (18%); schools, health care and social services (17%)
- Unemployment rate
- 5%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 40%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 7%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Palm 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
4 public schools in Palm Beach, run by Palm Beach.
Colleges in or next to town: Palm Beach Atlantic University (1,000 to 4,999 students).
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
- 96%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
- 58°F
- July average high
- 90°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 74 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
- 6 feet
Weather stations: West Palm Beach Intl Ap (4 miles away) and Loxahatchee Nwr (17 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Palm 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
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Henry Morrison Flagler House; Whitehall, Mar-A-Lago National Historic Landmark, the Royal Poinciana Way Historic District and Via Mizner. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Big Cypress National Preserve60 miles
Campus life. Check Palm Beach Atlantic University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Palm Beach's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Westgate, FL8,200 people, 4 miles
- Lake Clarke Shores, FL3,600 people, 4 miles
- Mangonia Park, FL2,700 people, 5 miles
- Haverhill, FL2,300 people, 5 miles
- Palm Beach Shores, FL1,400 people, 6 miles
- Lake Belvedere Estates, FL2,700 people, 6 miles
Smaller places
- Cloud Lake, FL141 people, 2 miles
- Glen Ridge, FL217 people, 3 miles
- Gun Club Estates, FL (unincorporated)1,050 people, 4 miles
- Schall Circle, FL (unincorporated)467 people, 5 miles
- Pine Air, FL (unincorporated)2,258 people, 5 miles
- Stacey Street, FL (unincorporated)582 people, 5 miles
- Acacia Villas, FL (unincorporated)131 people, 5 miles
- Plantation Mobile Home Park, FL (unincorporated)1,032 people, 6 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.