Best PlacesSt. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie ranks 4,346th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
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.
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie's strengths and weaknesses
Where St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,277, 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 St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie's effective rate of 1.08%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie.
Who works in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie, and how
Work in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie, month by month
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 76, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 76° | 63° | 51° |
| April | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 86° | 77° | 70° |
Flying in and out of St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
The nearest airport, Vero Beach Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Palm Beach International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
Schools across St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie average a B, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- West Gate K-8 SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- St. Lucie West K-8 SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Renaissance Charter School Of St. LucieB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southern Oaks Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Treasure Coast High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- St. Lucie West Centennial HighB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie 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 St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie
Is St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie ranks 4,346th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and health care access, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $385,397. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $75,277 median income, cost of living beats 64% of neighborhoods.
Is St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie safe?
Yes, St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie is safer than 68% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
Compare St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie 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.
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie 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.
- 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.