City profile · Florida · Census ACS 2023

Port St. Lucie, FL

Port St. Lucie's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

220,453
Residents
$78,137
Median income
$327,700
Median home
$1,526
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Port St. Lucie.

Place dossier plate

Sheet FL-PORT-ST-LUCIE-FL · Port St. Lucie, FL 220,453 pop · income 60th pct · 68 tracts

POP-MID · INC-HIGH · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-WIDE

  • POP-MID 220,453
  • INC-HIGH $78,137
  • COL-PAR 103.4
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-UPPER 60th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Naylor
  • HOME-MID $327,700
  • BOOK-WIDE 68 tracts

Nearest income peer: Naylor, GA (+ $4 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Port St. Lucie

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Port St. Lucie on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Port St. Lucie on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 220,453.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $78,137. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Port St. Lucie - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Port St. Lucie lands in the 60th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

60th
percentile, household income
69th
percentile, home value
73rd
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Port St. Lucie, FL

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 220,453 residents in Port St. Lucie, a mid-sized U.S. city within Florida. The typical household in Port St. Lucie brings in $78,137 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.6%. Port St. Lucie's housing stock carries a median value of $327,700, and the median resident age is 43.7 years. 26.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 56.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

In 2024, 3,798 residential building permits were authorized in Port St. Lucie (Rapid Growth), up 25% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.

Florida carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Florida at 103.4 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,526 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Florida, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 75.7 out of 100 (High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Port St. Lucie's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to schools and households to within-city variation to population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Port St. Lucie, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Port St. Lucie?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

2. Schools and households

What does the education layer cover for Port St. Lucie?

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 26.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

See how the family ranking is built →

Question 3

What can 68 Census tracts reveal inside Port St. Lucie?

PlainCities matches 68 Census tracts to this city.

That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.

Explore Port St. Lucie's tract profiles →

4. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Port St. Lucie?

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Within Florida, the closest population matches are Hialeah (221,901 residents, $53,079 income); Cape Coral (206,387 residents, $76,062 income); Tallahassee (199,696 residents, $55,931 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Tacoma, WA (220,482 residents); Spring Valley, NV (219,913 residents); San Bernardino, CA (221,774 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Other supported questions

Why these stay compact

These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.

Population change

Is Port St. Lucie growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +61,274 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +29.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 3,798 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.

2020 estimate
206,788
2025 estimate
268,062
Period change
+29.6%

Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.

See the national growth ranking →

Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Port St. Lucie?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.

Drive alone
79.0%
Work from home
10.5%
Public transit
0.1%

City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 99,803 workers age 16+.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

220,453 residents

Large city (200k–999k)

Median Household Income

$78,137 /yr

Above median income · poverty 5.6% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

103.4 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Florida average

City profile score · Port St. Lucie, FL

50/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Poverty rate C+
5.6%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Household income C
$78,137

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Bachelor's+ share C-
26.8%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Cost of living F
103.4 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Port St. Lucie profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Poverty rate, Household income, Bachelor's+ share, Cost of living. Poverty rateHousehold incomeBachelor's+ shareCost of living 50 C-
Port St. Lucie profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Poverty rate: 62/100 (C+) · 5.6%
  • Household income: 58/100 (C) · $78,137
  • Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.8%
  • Cost of living: 25/100 (F) · 103.4 index

How does Port St. Lucie compare to other US cities?

Here's how Port St. Lucie stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 60% higher than other cities
Home value 69% pricier than other cities
Median rent 73% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Port St. Lucie against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Florida only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Florida-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Port St. Lucie near the bottom of Florida's cities

Among the 930 Florida cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Port St. Lucie ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Port St. Lucie only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#341 of 903
62nd percentile in Florida
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 930
0th percentile in Florida
Median Home Value
#373 of 894
58th percentile in Florida
Poverty Rate
#585 of 930
36th percentile in Florida
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#478 of 930
48th percentile in Florida
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Florida only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

60thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

60th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Port St. Lucie's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$327,700 31st percentile more affordable than 31% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). This entry sits in this band. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Port St. Lucie $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Port St. Lucie's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.2×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,221 of 15,516
More affordable than 28% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#49 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)

At 4.2×, Port St. Lucie sits in the moderate band: national rank #11,221 of 15,516 and #49 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999). Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$78,137 Port St. Lucie, FL median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Port St. Lucie, FL Port St. Lucie, FL's median household income ($78,137) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Port St. Lucie, FL-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Port St. Lucie, FL median $78,137/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Port St. Lucie, FL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Port St. Lucie, FL.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 26.8%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 5.6%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 56.3%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
220,453
Median Income
$78,137
Median Home Value
$327,700
Median Age
43.7
Poverty Rate
5.6%
Labor force participation
56.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.8%

Schools

Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
200,000 residents220,000 residents240,000 residents260,000 residents280,000 residents 202020212022202320242025 206,788 residents 268,062 residents ▲ +29.6%
Port St. Lucie's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 206,788 residents
2021 217,881 residents
2022 232,878 residents
2023 247,573 residents
2024 258,931 residents
2025 268,062 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
3,798
housing units authorized
Single-Family
3,528
detached homes
Multifamily
270
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
17.2
permits per 1,000 residents

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 3,039
2020 4,085
2021 6,512
2022 5,537
2023 4,182
2024 3,798

Permit volume increased 25% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
79.0%
Carpool
8.0%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
10.5%
Other
1.3%

Based on 99,803 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Florida statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Florida at $225 (electricity about $145 , water and sewer about $55 ).

These are Florida statewide averages, not a meter reading for Port St. Lucie. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Florida's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.4 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Port St. Lucie is $1,526/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Florida statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 75.7 / 100 (High).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Florida statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Port St. Lucie sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Port St. Lucie compares to similar-size Florida cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Port St. Lucie (this city) 220,453 $78,137
Hialeah 221,901 $53,079
Cape Coral 206,387 $76,062
Tallahassee 199,696 $55,931
NCES CCD Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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