Best PlacesPalm Beach County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Palm Beach County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Palm Beach County ranks 1,195th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $97,161, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are summer heat, car insurance costs, and disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in Palm Beach County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Palm Beach County
The parts of Palm Beach County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Boca Raton
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and schools score higher.
The Acreage & Jupiter Farms
Fewer homes sit empty and incomes run higher.
Jupiter & Palm Beach Gardens
More residents vote, though it is noisier.
Boynton Beach & Delray Beach
Fewer households have young kids and heat risk is higher.
Wellington, Royal Palm Beach & Belle Glade
Biking is worse and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Highland Beach & Hypoluxo
Streets are more walkable, though crime runs higher.
Riviera Beach, North Palm Beach & Lake Park
Prices have run up more and health outcomes score lower.
Lake Worth
Health care is harder to reach.
West Palm Beach, Greenacres & Palm Springs
Homes cost less.
Palm Beach County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Palm Beach County's strengths and weaknesses
Palm Beach County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State infrastructure is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Biking and transit follow.
The one real hole is summer heat, near the bottom of the country. Car insurance costs and disaster risk also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Palm Beach County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 97% of counties
- TransitBetter than 96% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
Where Palm Beach County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,238 a month, better than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Palm Beach County
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Palm Beach County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,161, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Palm Beach County's effective rate of 0.82%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Palm Beach County.
Who works in Palm Beach County, and how
Work in Palm Beach County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County has less late-night activity than most counties. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Palm Beach County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Palm Beach County growing, and who is moving in?
Palm Beach County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Miami, FL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Palm Beach County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Palm Beach County, month by month
Palm Beach County sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 78, with lows near 57. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 78° | 67° | 57° |
| April | 85° | 76° | 68° |
| July | 92° | 84° | 77° |
| October | 87° | 80° | 73° |
Flying in and out of Palm Beach County
Palm Beach International sits about 6 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Palm Beach County
Schools across Palm Beach County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Morikami Park Elementary SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Jupiter Farms Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Waters Edge Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bak Middle School Of The ArtsA+ · 89% proficient
- Don Estridge High Tech Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Wellington Landings MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Alexander W Dreyfoos Junior School Of The ArtsA+ · 86% proficient
- Suncoast Community High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Seagull AcademyA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Palm Beach County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Palm Beach County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Palm Beach County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Palm Beach County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Palm Beach County
Is Palm Beach County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Palm Beach County ranks 1,195th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, biking, and transit, and lowest on summer heat and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Palm Beach County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $507,119. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $97,161 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Palm Beach County safe?
Palm Beach County is safer than 36% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Palm Beach County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 78 with lows near 57. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Palm Beach County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Boca Raton, The Acreage & Jupiter Farms, and Jupiter & Palm Beach Gardens. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Palm Beach County good for families?
Schools beat 75% of counties, crime safety beats 36%, and childcare runs $1,238 a month.
Is Palm Beach County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 84% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Palm Beach County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Palm Beach County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Palm Beach County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Palm Beach County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Palm Beach County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Palm Beach County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Palm Beach County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Palm Beach County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Palm Beach County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.