Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL

Metro Area Profile

524,395 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL metropolitan area.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 24% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity261st of 379 published metros47
GrowthTop 20% of 821 published metros69
Housing affordability622nd of 822 published metros84
ClimateTop 5% of 822 published metros81
Physical resilience769th of 822 published metros16
AccessTop 47% of 822 published metros78
Economic stabilityTop 45% of 822 published metros54
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.9% and median household income $75,967, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.

3,748 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, tornado and coastal flooding.

At a glance

Population
524,395
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,967
Top 25% nationally
Density
314/sq mi
1669.4 sq mi of land
Median age
39.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
Nearest major airport
CEW
40 mi · Bob Sikes
Median home value
$286,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.9% is lower than 25% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.6% over the past year, to 230,298 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,471$75,967Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$706$39,071Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.4%Bottom 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute27.9 minTop 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher30.6%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment230,298Top 29%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.7%Bottom 23%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.6%Top 47%June 2026
Labor force242,277Top 28%June 2026
Labor force participation60.7%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,620Bottom 35%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,240Bottom 32%2025 OEWS
Metro employment190,480Top 31%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.7%Top 15%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.9%Top 25%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.92.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.9% in June 2026. 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.
Largest occupations — Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers6,970$28,360
Retail Salespersons6,720$31,870
Registered Nurses5,070$77,890
Cashiers4,690$29,910
Waiters and Waitresses4,260$35,340
Office Clerks, General4,160$39,960

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,354 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,354
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$286,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.76Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate70.5%Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±207229,219Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$26$1,354Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,275$286,000Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.4%Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.0%Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
69/ 100
Top 20% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 538,928 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 7.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
3,748
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.1
Top 14% nationally
Year over year
+9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024539k512k
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.

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 44°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 68.3 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PENSACOLA RGNL AP, 9.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND7.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation68.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low44°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months81991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing30°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

16 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, tornado and coastal flooding.

HurricaneElevated
TornadoModerate
Coastal floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, inland flooding, wildfire, cold wave, earthquake, winter weather, hail, drought, landslide, strong wind, ice storm.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 40 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bob SikesCEW40 mi8,006 ft
Mobile RgnlMOB65 mi8,502 ft
Northwest Florida Beaches IntlECP83 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
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.