Melbourne, Florida

Area Profile

86,576 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Melbourne, in Brevard County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 24% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,476th of 4,199 cities measured40
Schools2,269th of 4,162 cities measured46
GrowthTop 20% of 4,224 cities measured66
Housing affordability3,039th of 4,218 cities measured55
ClimateTop 10% of 4,225 cities measured83
Physical resilience3,724th of 4,226 cities measured19
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability2,945th of 4,226 cities measured47
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.8% and the Opportunity signal places Melbourne in the bottom 17%.

In the public schools here, 55% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.1 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 424 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, against 76 the year before.

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

Population
86,576
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,991
Top 50% nationally
Density
1,959/sq mi
44.2 sq mi of land
Median age
42.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Florida
Nearest major airport
MLB
1 mi · Melbourne Orlando Intl
Median home value
$306,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% — higher than in all but 32% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.3% over the past year, to 40,087 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsBrevard County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$81,13963rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftBrevard County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$68,21640th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,4862024 ACS 5-Year$66,991Top 50%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6662024 ACS 5-Year$38,249Top 37%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.7%Bottom 36%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.5 minTop 38%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year34.7%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.0%33rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202640,087Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.7%Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Bottom 37%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202642,10742nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.6%Top 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePalm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,210Bottom 45%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wagePalm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,030Bottom 34%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%85th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Bottom 15%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.8%Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.8% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202467k56k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,991 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons7,670$33,430
Fast Food and Counter Workers7,630$28,660
Registered Nurses5,440$80,900
General and Operations Managers5,090$101,830
Waiters and Waitresses5,080$36,670
Cashiers5,070$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.

55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.1 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
54.6%
Bottom 35% in Florida
Reading proficiency
59.3%
Top 34% in Florida
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Melbourne Senior High SchoolBREVARD2,21022.155%67%
Eau Gallie High SchoolBREVARD1,39820.341%52%
Palm Bay Magnet Senior High SchoolBREVARD1,35919.128%41%
West Shore Junior/senior High SchoolBREVARD94817.998%97%
Roy Allen Elementary SchoolBREVARD61916.765%57%
Lyndon B. Johnson Middle SchoolBREVARD58017.167%56%
Longleaf Elementary SchoolBREVARD57813.884%81%
Stone Magnet Middle SchoolBREVARD55718.049%49%
Dr. W.j. Creel Elementary SchoolBREVARD54212.942%50%
University Park Elementary SchoolBREVARD52914.733%38%
Sabal Elementary SchoolBREVARD49312.647%46%
Sherwood Elementary SchoolBREVARD49313.056%69%

44.3% 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.

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 $2,075 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.68% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,747, some 15% above the $1,525 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,747 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $69,900 a year, about 104% of the median household income here of $66,991.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,525 a month.

A median home at $306,400 costs 3.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $80,462, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
101.3

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.

Rent as a share of income
34.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,747
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,525
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$306,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Melbourne’s median household income of $66,991, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2023101.3Top 47%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.2%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.5%43rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+119.3%86th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.8Bottom 20%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year59.7%20th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1,0232024 ACS 5-Year41,21799th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,512Bottom 42%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,381Bottom 38%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,747Bottom 44%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$512024 ACS 5-Year$1,525Bottom 19%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,8622024 ACS 5-Year$306,40073rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1402024 ACS 5-Year$2,07557th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,3852024 ACS 5-Year$80,462Top 48%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.68%27th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year34.5%Bottom 22%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3852024 ACS 5-Year1,52999th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%77th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%47th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5432024 ACS 5-Year4,17699th percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

66/ 100
Top 20% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 3% since 2020, reaching 87,561 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 64 units authorized in 2025, up 8% on the prior year.

76% of the 424 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Brevard County, which contains Melbourne, 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 4.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
424
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.9
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
+458%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
76.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202488k85k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
59%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$81,139
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$68,216
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Orange County, FL 2,345 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  2. Broward County, FL 1,401 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  3. Indian River County, FL 1,078 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  4. Palm Beach County, FL 1,061 people · 3.0% of arrivals
  5. Miami-Dade County, FL 1,003 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Orange County, FL 1,785 people · 7.2% of departures
  2. Indian River County, FL 727 people · 2.9% of departures
  3. Volusia County, FL 622 people · 2.5% of departures
  4. Seminole County, FL 519 people · 2.1% of departures
  5. 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

20202021202220232024202548359
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−87%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 52°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MELBOURNE INTL AP, 1.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals20°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
53
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

19 / 100
Physical resilience

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.

HurricaneHigh
LightningModerate
WildfireModerate
Cold waveModerate

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.

Violent crime
452
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,830
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Melbourne's police department reported 452 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,830.

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.

Homicide
2.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
27.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
20.7
per 100,000 residents

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 Melbourne’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 Melbourne (Brevard County) rather than Melbourne 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 1 mile.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year90.4%Top 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle1 miTop 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%Top 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Melbourne Orlando IntlMLB1 mi10,181 ft
Orlando IntlMCO45 mi10,000 ft
Orlando Sanford IntlSFB58 mi11,002 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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Area Score
51
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Other cities in Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Palm BayBrevard County130,13251Palm Bay vs Melbourne
TitusvilleBrevard County49,38546Titusville vs Melbourne
Merritt IslandBrevard County34,99257Merritt Island vs Melbourne
RockledgeBrevard County29,13357
West MelbourneBrevard County28,79560
Port St. JohnBrevard County25,12055
CocoaBrevard County19,55449
Viera WestBrevard County17,98458
Viera EastBrevard County12,57055
Cocoa BeachBrevard County11,37755
Satellite BeachBrevard County11,31360
Cape CanaveralBrevard County10,00650

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.

Compare

Put Melbourne side by side with a similar place.

Melbourne vs Palm BayMelbourne vs West Palm Beach

Moving to Melbourne from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

ZIP codes in Melbourne

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Melbourne with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3293541,965$64,588$263,20053
3290128,923$54,651$282,30046
3293418,564$104,369$416,10055