Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Florida

Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian is a small city of about 27,000 people in Indian River County, Florida. It has grown about 9% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.6 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, Orlando, is about 70 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
27,352
up 8.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$317,000
Indian River County prices up 9.2% since 2022
Household income
$69,409
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Sebastian area
98.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Sebastian, FL
To Orlando
70 mi
straight line

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 4.6 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 Sebastian 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 town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOrlando Health Sebastian River Hospital in Sebastian, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityOrlando is about 70 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 Sebastian 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$317,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.2%Indian River County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,451 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$69,409U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,062 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
7%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 Sebastian 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
27,3522020: 25,115
Median age
58.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
37%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
27%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%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 (22%); professional and business services (16%); retail (10%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital, Sebastian, FL, about 5 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

7 public schools in Sebastian, run by Indian River.

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
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
22 feet

Weather station: Vero Beach 4SE (10 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: Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital, Palm Bay, 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

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Old Town Sebastian Historic District East and Old Town Sebastian Historic District, West.

Read about Sebastian's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sebastian?

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

  • Wabasso, FL (unincorporated)1,467 people, 3 miles
  • Orchid, FL554 people, 4 miles
  • Roseland, FL (unincorporated)2,142 people, 4 miles
  • Windsor, FL (unincorporated)338 people, 4 miles
  • Wabasso Beach, FL (unincorporated)2,262 people, 5 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.