Vero Beach South, Florida

Area Profile

30,344 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Vero Beach South, in Indian River County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 22% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity3,705th of 4,199 cities measured36
SchoolsTop 24% of 4,162 cities measured70
Growth2,238th of 4,224 cities measured49
Housing affordability3,015th of 4,218 cities measured55
ClimateTop 8% of 4,225 cities measured86
Physical resilience3,798th of 4,226 cities measured15
Access3,266th of 4,226 cities measured81
Economic stability2,412th of 4,226 cities measured54
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.6% and the Opportunity signal places Vero Beach South in the bottom 12%. The unemployment rate is published for Indian River County, FL, which contains Vero Beach South, rather than for Vero Beach South alone.

In the public schools here, 64% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.4 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.3 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

Population
30,344
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,420
Top 41% nationally
Density
2,577/sq mi
11.8 sq mi of land
Median age
48.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Florida
Nearest major airport
MLB
37 mi · Melbourne Orlando Intl
Median home value
$335,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Indian River County, FL, which contains Vero Beach South, is 5.6% — higher than in all but 11% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Indian River County, FL, which contains Vero Beach South, fell 1.4% over the past year, to 63,380 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsIndian River County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$134,39196th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftIndian River County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$83,30768th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,2202024 ACS 5-Year$73,420Top 41%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6382024 ACS 5-Year$39,320Top 34%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%Top 45%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.0 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Top 32%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year74.8%42nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentIndian River County, FL’s figureJuly 202663,380Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Indian River County, FL’s figureJuly 2026−2.1%Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Indian River County, FL’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Bottom 36%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceIndian River County, FL’s figureJuly 202667,16551st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.4%Top 49%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,750Bottom 11%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,480Bottom 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Indian River County, FL’s figureJuly 2026+0.7%Bottom 10%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateIndian River County, FL’s figureJuly 20265.6%Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.3%65th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $73,420 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 — Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons2,500$33,450
Registered Nurses1,880$81,300
Waiters and Waitresses1,560$36,060
Cashiers1,430$30,320
General and Operations Managers1,330$89,030
Office Clerks, General1,150$44,320

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 does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Indian River County, FL, which contains this city.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.4 students for every full-time teacher across 3 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
3
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
64.3%
Top 27% in Florida
Reading proficiency
63.7%
Top 24% in Florida
All 3 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Imagine at South Vero · charterINDIAN RIVER89216.570%72%
Citrus Elementary SchoolINDIAN RIVER63014.757%51%
Glendale Elementary SchoolINDIAN RIVER39014.463%65%

36.0% 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 3% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 97.3, 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 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area is up 47% over five years, and up 3.0% 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 $1,949 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.58% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,604, some 22% above the $1,314 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,604 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $64,200 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $73,420.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,314 a month.

A median home at $335,200 costs 4.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,598, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
97.3

Prices here run about 3% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, 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
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,604
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,314
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$335,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Vero Beach South’s median household income of $73,420, 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 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area’s figure202397.3Top 34%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.0%48th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+47.3%69th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+130.0%95th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.3Bottom 14%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.6%58th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5912024 ACS 5-Year14,23696th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,222Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,956Top 40%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,604Top 46%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1082024 ACS 5-Year$1,314Bottom 26%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,9882024 ACS 5-Year$335,20076th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1412024 ACS 5-Year$1,94955th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,3682024 ACS 5-Year$77,598Bottom 48%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.58%18th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2802024 ACS 5-Year1,32199th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%87th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%44th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4232024 ACS 5-Year2,14898th 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

49/ 100
Ranks 2,238 of 4,224 published city profiles

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.

60% of the 457 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. The multifamily share is published for Indian River County, FL, which contains Vero Beach South, rather than for Vero Beach South alone.

Federal tax returns show Indian River County, which contains Vero Beach South, gained about 1.5% 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 $134,391, above the $83,307 of households that moved out.

At 2.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Indian River County, FL, which contains Vero Beach South, rather than for Vero Beach South alone.

Units permitted
457
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.7
Top 49% nationally
Year over year
+130%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
60.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
50%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$134,391
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$83,307
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. St. Lucie County, FL 1,421 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. Brevard County, FL 727 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  3. Palm Beach County, FL 500 people · 5.1% of arrivals
  4. Broward County, FL 443 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Miami-Dade County, FL 258 people · 2.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Brevard County, FL 1,078 people · 14% of departures
  2. St. Lucie County, FL 974 people · 12% of departures
  3. Palm Beach County, FL 257 people · 3.3% of departures
  4. Orange County, FL 187 people · 2.4% of departures
  5. Broward County, FL 175 people · 2.2% 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 Indian River County, FL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Vero Beach South, FL is not one. This is the figure for Indian River County, FL, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

9 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 51°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 35, 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 FT PIERCE ST LUCIE CO INTL AP, 8.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals51°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals91991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year352024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
35
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
44
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

15 / 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 81% 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
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, wildfire, strong wind, inland flooding, tornado, coastal flooding, heat wave, drought, earthquake, landslide, 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.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Indian River County records 7.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 17.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.8 per 100,000 residents in Indian River County.

Homicide
7.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.3
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.

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 Vero Beach South (Indian River County) rather than Vero Beach South itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 37 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year90.7%Top 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle37 miBottom 21%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%Bottom 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Melbourne Orlando IntlMLB37 mi10,181 ft
President Donald J Trump IntlDJT67 mi10,001 ft
Orlando IntlMCO78 mi10,000 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 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
SebastianIndian River County26,26242Sebastian vs Vero Beach South
Florida RidgeIndian River County20,88948Florida Ridge vs Vero Beach South
Vero BeachIndian River County17,04245Vero Beach vs Vero Beach South
West Vero CorridorIndian River County10,46145

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 Vero Beach South side by side with a similar place.

Vero Beach South vs Spring HillVero Beach South vs Port Orange

Moving to Vero Beach South 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
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
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 Vero Beach South

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Vero Beach South with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3296815,912$94,113$411,20052