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Stuart, Florida

Stuart is a suburb of about 19,500 people in Martin County, Florida, in the Port St. Lucie area. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 11% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.5 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 98 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seatSuburb of Port St. Lucie

Population
19,451
up 11% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$329,400
Martin County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$60,225
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Port St. Lucie area
100.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital
To Miami
98 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 5.5 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 Stuart 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 town15 public schools: 5 elementary, 3 middle, 4 high schools and 3 other.
  • A hospital close byCleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 98 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 Stuart 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

Stuart 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.

Boom town. The population is up 11% 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
$329,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Martin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,586 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$60,225U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,063 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
16%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 Stuart 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
19,4512020: 17,489
Median age
48.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
29%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
35%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

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 (24%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%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, in town. 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

15 public schools in Stuart, run by Martin.

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
74%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
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
9 feet

Weather station: Stuart (less than a mile 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: 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

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Stuart's history on Wikipedia.

Know Stuart?

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, 1 mile
  • Ocean Breeze, FL402 people, 3 miles
  • Jupiter Island, FL841 people, 15 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.