Latest Census city estimates released May 14, 2026 · Population as of July 1, 2025 · Next city estimates scheduled for May 2027. Release schedule
Palm Bay, Florida population is 148,092 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #187 nationally and #14 in Florida. Cost of living runs 0.0% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); the four-person spending scenario corresponds to modeled gross income of $108,090/yr (TY2026 tax assumptions; partial scenario excluding unverified local income tax). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
148,092 people live in Palm Bay as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #187 largest U.S. city.
How big is Palm Bay?
Palm Bay covers 86.7 square miles of land and 1.5 square miles of water. Its population density is about 1,709 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 23.7% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 119,755 → 2025: 148,092 (+23.7%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
119,755
April 1, 2020
2020
120,159
July 1, 2020
2021
122,976
July 1, 2021
2022
129,294
July 1, 2022
2023
135,798
July 1, 2023
2024
141,351
July 1, 2024
2025
148,092
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 11.0% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Palm Bay is the #187 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #14 in Florida.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
119,755
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+28,337
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+23.7%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+6,741
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+4.8%
within V2025 only
Density
1,709
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
86.7
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#187
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#14
of 411 in Florida
What is the median household income in Palm Bay?
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: household income $80,734 ± $166; per-capita income $44,673 ± $122. Margins are at 90% confidence. Comparison badges describe point estimates; they are not significance tests.
Median household income is 10% below the U.S. median ($72,614 vs $80,734); 11.7% live in poverty, 0.7 points below the 12.5% U.S. estimate.
Median household income$72,614
US
Palm Bay: $72,614 — 10% below the US median of $80,734.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data; censored rows retained in the distribution
Palm Bay
$72,614
United States
$80,734
Income and poverty estimates for Palm Bay from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
$72,614-10.1% vs US
±$3,753
Per capita income
$34,813-22.1% vs US
±$3,490
Population in poverty
11.7% ± 1.5 percentage points
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 15% below the U.S. median ($283,200 vs $332,700); median rent is 13% above ($1,601 vs $1,413); price-to-income ratio (3.9×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (4.1×).
Median home value$283,200
US
Palm Bay: $283,200 — 15% below the US median of $332,700.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data; censored rows retained in the distribution
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,709/mo
US
Palm Bay: $1,709/mo — 59% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: home value $332,700 ± $236; gross rent $1,413 ± $2. Comparison badges describe estimates and do not establish statistical significance.
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2025 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Palm Bay. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.3%
Palm Bay (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
66,937
2025 annual avg
Worked from home
11.0% ± 1.1 percentage points-27.3% vs US
share of workers 16+ working from home · U.S. share: 15.1% · ACS
County context — Palm Bay sits in Brevard County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Brevard County
10.1%
$78,154
4.2%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Palm Bay's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2025 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Manufacturing (31-33)
35,021
$2,261 / wk
#2
Health care and social assistance (62)
33,548
$1,220 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
28,628
$756 / wk
#4
Accommodation and food services (72)
25,829
$553 / wk
#5
Professional and technical services (54)
20,626
$2,040 / wk
What workers earn in the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Retail Salespersons is the largest tracked occupation in the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro (7,670 jobs, median $33,430/yr).
▸Show all 12 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
7,630
$28,660
$13.78
Waiters and Waitresses
5,080
$36,670
$17.63
Cashiers
5,070
$30,390
$14.61
Customer Service Representatives
4,700
$37,760
$18.15
Office Clerks, General
4,280
$43,400
$20.86
Stockers and Order Fillers
3,910
$35,300
$16.97
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
7,670
$33,430
$16.07
Registered Nurses · benchmark
5,440
$80,900
$38.89
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
5,090
$101,830
$48.96
Software Developers · benchmark
5,030
$131,760
$63.35
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
2,310
$62,510
—
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
All items run within 1 point of the U.S. average (RPP 100.0); rents stand out at RPP 111.7 (11.7% above the U.S. average).
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 100.0
US
Palm Bay's cost of living runs 0.0% above the U.S. average (RPP 100.0 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 100.0
— vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,709/mo
FY2026 · Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
0%
no state income tax · TY2026
Four-person monthly spending scenario
$9,008/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
One-person monthly spending scenario
$3,572/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
Local income tax
—
Unverified and excluded from the spending scenario; not a verified zero
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
16.0% ± 1.3 percentage points foreign-born (U.S. share 14.1%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (12.9% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Palm Bay's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
Hottest month: July (90°F avg high). Coldest: January (51°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 51.9 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Palm Bay from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 98.4/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Hurricane (99.7).
Natural-hazard exposure for Palm Bay from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Brevard County
98.4
Relatively High
Hurricane 99.7 Very High · Lightning 99.4 Very High · Wildfire 97.2 Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Palm Bay?
8 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 57% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Palm Bay from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of December 31, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
8 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
7
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
56.5%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
56.5%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
59,871
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of December 31, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Palm Bay sits at state rank #14 among 411 cities in Florida. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Pasadena, TX · #186 · 148,539 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Pomona, CA · #188 · 147,807 residents.
Quick travel facts for Palm Bay
Quick travel facts.
Elevation
22 ft · at city centroid, from USGS 3D Elevation Program
Nearest scheduled-service airport
Melbourne Orlando International Airport(MLB) · 10 mi 17 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Jan, Feb, Dec · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS 3DEP · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (OurAirports type=large/medium and scheduled_service=yes; not an FAA service classification) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Palm Bay.
How many people live in Palm Bay, FL?
Palm Bay has 148,092 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #187 largest city in the United States and #14 in Florida. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Palm Bay growing or shrinking?
Palm Bay has grown 23.7% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 28,337 residents, including a 4.8% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Palm Bay's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Palm Bay is 1254000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
