Cocoa, Florida
Area Profile
19,554 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Cocoa, in Brevard County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.9% and the Opportunity signal places Cocoa in the bottom 14%. The unemployment rate is published for Brevard County, FL, which contains Cocoa, rather than for Cocoa alone.
In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.
Rent takes 36% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.0 times what its owners earn.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Brevard County, FL, which contains Cocoa, is 4.9% — higher than in all but 29% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Brevard County, FL, which contains Cocoa, fell 1.3% over the past year, to 289,619 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsBrevard County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $81,139 | 63rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftBrevard County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $68,216 | 40th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$10,4312024 ACS 5-Year | $63,105 | Bottom 44%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$4,9102024 ACS 5-Year | $38,586 | Top 36%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 12.2% | Bottom 44%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±3.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.9 min | Bottom 44%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.4% | Top 35%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 73.3% | 37th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentBrevard County, FL’s figureJuly 2026 | 289,619 | Top 26%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Brevard County, FL’s figureJuly 2026 | −2.2% | Bottom 21%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Brevard County, FL’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.3% | Bottom 37%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceBrevard County, FL’s figureJuly 2026 | 304,595 | 74th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.3% | Top 43%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wagePalm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $67,210 | Bottom 45%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wagePalm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $49,030 | Bottom 34%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.1% | 94th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Brevard County, FL’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.6% | Bottom 12%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateBrevard County, FL’s figureJuly 2026 | 4.9% | Bottom 29%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 9.1% | 57th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 7,670 | $33,430 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 7,630 | $28,660 |
| Registered Nurses | 5,440 | $80,900 |
| General and Operations Managers | 5,090 | $101,830 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 5,080 | $36,670 |
| Cashiers | 5,070 | $30,390 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Brevard County, FL, which contains this city.
42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa High School | BREVARD | 1,432 | 16.1 | 43% | 38% |
| Endeavour Elementary School | BREVARD | 732 | 14.9 | 32% | 27% |
| Saturn Elementary School | BREVARD | 619 | 14.7 | 48% | 45% |
| Cambridge Elementary Magnet School | BREVARD | 477 | 14.5 | 49% | 38% |
| Emma Jewel Charter Academy · charter | BREVARD | 339 | 21.2 | 42% | 28% |
68.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 1% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 101.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 2.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,645 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,350, close to the $1,274 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,350 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,000 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $63,105.
The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,274 a month.
A median home at $246,100 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $81,440, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 1% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Cocoa’s median household income of $63,105, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2023 | 101.3 | Top 47%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +2.2% | 35th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +40.5% | 43rd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +119.3% | 86th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 3.0 | Bottom 34%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 63.5% | 26th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±6432024 ACS 5-Year | 10,230 | 94th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,170 | Top 35%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,841 | Top 36%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,350 | Top 32%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1232024 ACS 5-Year | $1,274 | Bottom 28%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$18,8402024 ACS 5-Year | $246,100 | 64th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$2402024 ACS 5-Year | $1,645 | 46th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$5,6822024 ACS 5-Year | $81,440 | Top 46%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.67% | 26th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 36.0% | Bottom 18%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1522024 ACS 5-Year | 272 | 95th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.7% | 73rd percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.9% | 77th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2812024 ACS 5-Year | 1,699 | 97th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 19,909 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 11 units authorized in 2025, against 4 the year before.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 58 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Brevard County, which contains Cocoa, gained about 2.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $81,139, above the $68,216 of households that moved out.
At 3.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Orange County, FL 2,345 people · 6.7% of arrivals
- Broward County, FL 1,401 people · 4.0% of arrivals
- Indian River County, FL 1,078 people · 3.1% of arrivals
- Palm Beach County, FL 1,061 people · 3.0% of arrivals
- Miami-Dade County, FL 1,003 people · 2.9% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Orange County, FL 1,785 people · 7.2% of departures
- Indian River County, FL 727 people · 2.9% of departures
- Volusia County, FL 622 people · 2.5% of departures
- Seminole County, FL 519 people · 2.1% of departures
- Osceola County, FL 468 people · 1.9% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Brevard County, FL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
10 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 50°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 48.6 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 53 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 48.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 50°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 89°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 10 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 0 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 40 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 21°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 72% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, tornado, inland flooding, heat wave, coastal flooding, landslide, drought, earthquake, hail, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, ice storm, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Cocoa's police department reported 919 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,444.
Brevard County records 2.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 27.8 per 100,000 residents in Brevard County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Cocoa’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Cocoa (Brevard County) rather than Cocoa itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Melbourne Orlando Intl at 20 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 91.7% | Top 41%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 20 mi | Bottom 44%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Bottom 38%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.7% | Top 29%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Orlando Intl | MLB | 20 mi | 10,181 ft |
| Orlando Intl | MCO | 33 mi | 10,000 ft |
| Orlando Sanford Intl | SFB | 40 mi | 11,002 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Other cities in Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Bay | Brevard County | 130,132 | 51 | Palm Bay vs Cocoa |
| Melbourne | Brevard County | 86,576 | 51 | Melbourne vs Cocoa |
| Titusville | Brevard County | 49,385 | 46 | Titusville vs Cocoa |
| Merritt Island | Brevard County | 34,992 | 57 | |
| Rockledge | Brevard County | 29,133 | 57 | |
| West Melbourne | Brevard County | 28,795 | 60 | |
| Port St. John | Brevard County | 25,120 | 55 | |
| Viera West | Brevard County | 17,984 | 58 | |
| Viera East | Brevard County | 12,570 | 55 | |
| Cocoa Beach | Brevard County | 11,377 | 55 | |
| Satellite Beach | Brevard County | 11,313 | 60 | |
| Cape Canaveral | Brevard County | 10,006 | 50 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Cocoa side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Cocoa from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.