Palm beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County is part of the southeast Florida region along with Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties. Palm Beach County has 38 cities, towns and villages in total. West Palm Beach is the county's largest city and acts as the county seat. Palm Beach has a population over 1.3 million.

Palm Beach County has many wealthy towns such as Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Jupiter, as well as a large equestrian population making it one of Florida's wealthiest counties. As a result, real estate prices are comparatively higher in Palm Beach County than most other counties in Florida.

Palm Beach County's major private sector employers are Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Hospital Corporation of America, Florida Power & Light, The Breakers, and Office Depot. Top public sector employers are Palm Beach County School Board, Palm Beach County, Florida Atlantic University, and Boca Raton Community Hospital. Palm Beach County considers agribusiness; aviation, aerospace, and engineering; equestrian; healthcare; green energy; and corporate headquarters to be among its main industries.

Boca Raton is in southern Palm Beach County and is known as the birthplace of the IBM personal computer. It still hosts a large research park focused on technological innovation. The city hosts the headquarters for Office Depot and GEO Group. Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University are both located in Boca Raton.

Sue Goldthorp

I'm here to help

My name is Sue Goldthorp. I am a real estate broker and co-founder of Visulate. Drop me a line if you would like me to help you buy or sell a property in Palm Beach County Florida.

Palm Beach County Florida Cities

There are 16 cities in Palm Beach County Florida. These are listed below. Click on a link for details.

Belle Glade, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Bryant, Canal Point, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Harbor, Lake Worth, Loxahatchee, North Palm Beach, Pahokee, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, South Bay, West Palm Beach,

Palm Beach County has a population of approximately 1,356,545 people. The population increased 2.8% from 2010 to 2012. This compared to a 2.7% increase for the State of Florida and a 1.7% increase for the country as a whole. Palm Beach County is 1969.76 square miles and had a population density of 670.2 Persons per square mile in 2010. This compared to 350.6 for Florida and 87.4 for the country.

There are 668,159 housing units in Palm Beach County (a housing unit is defined by the US Census Bureau as a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room that is occupied as separate living quarters.) Palm Beach County has a 72.6% homeownership rate compared to Florida's rate of 69.0%. Palm Beach County's medium household income in 2011 was $52,951, which is higher than the medium income for Florida as a whole: $47,827.

Regional Economic Indicators
RegionPopulation
2012
Economic Activity
2007 (Millions)
Population Growth
2010 to 2012
Median Household
Income 2011
Housing
Units
Median Price
2007 to 2011
United States 313,914,040 $14,025,202 1.7% $52,762 132,312,404 $186,200
Florida 19,317,568 $630,738 2.7% $47,827 9,026,965 $188,600
Palm Beach County 1,356,545 $38,668 2.8% $52,951 668,159 $236,600

13.3% of the population in Palm Beach County lives below the poverty line, compared to 14.7% in Florida and 14.3% nationwide. Additional Information:

Palm Beach County Economic Activity

The U.S. Bureau of the Census, Economic , 2007 calculated the total value manufacturing, merchant wholesaler, retail sales and food service sales in Palm Beach County. The Census measured activity of large and medium-sized firms during calendar year 2007. It does not include every aspect of the economy but can be used as a measure of economic activity.

At $38,668 million, Palm Beach County's economic activity represents 6.13% of the Florida economy.

Economic Activity
ActivityValue (Millions)Percentage
Manufacturers shipments $4,241 11.0%
Merchant wholesaler sales $12,018 31.1%
Retail sales $19,322 50.0%
Accommodation and food services sales $3,089 8.0%
Total $38,668100%

Palm Beach County Regional Comparisons

Palm Beach County is located in Southeast Florida. This region is responsible for 37.7% of Florida's economic activity. Palm Beach County represents 16.3% of the region's economy.

Regional Economic Indicators
RegionPopulation
2012
Economic Activity
2007 (Millions)
Population Growth
2010 to 2012
Median Household
Income 2011
Housing
Units
Median Price
2007 to 2011
Indian River County 140,567 $2,455 1.8% $46,363 76,251 $179,300
St. Lucie County 283,866 $5,576 2.2% $44,947 137,581 $157,600
Martin County 148,817 $4,347 1.7% $53,612 78,356 $238,200
Palm Beach County 1,356,545 $38,668 2.8% $52,951 668,159 $236,600
Broward County 1,815,137 $73,668 3.8% $51,782 810,795 $225,300
Miami-Dade County 2,591,035 $110,643 3.8% $43,957 990,558 $246,800
Monroe County 74,809 $2,136 2.4% $53,889 52,552 $463,100
Total 6,410,776 $237,494 2.6% $49,643 2,814,252 $249,557

Palm Beach Real Estate

There are 456,231 properties in Palm Beach County. The following table shows a summary of them based on 2013 sales data.

Palm Beach County Real Estate Sales Summary
Usage TypeProperty Count%Sales CountMedian PriceMedian Price/FtSales FromTo
Commercial Property 0 0.00 271 $837,500 $151January 1st, 2013September 1st, 2013
Government Property 2,642 0.58 2 $84,000 $96January 1st, 2013January 1st, 2013
Miscellaneous Property 352 0.08 1 $2,000,100 $36April 1st, 2013April 1st, 2013
Residential Property 0 0.00 22,884 $155,000 $85January 1st, 2013September 1st, 2013

Commercial Real Estate in Palm Beach County, Florida

0( .00%) of the properties in Palm Beach County are classified as Commercial. 271 of them sold between January 1st, 2013 and September 1st, 2013. The total value of these sales was $672,220,460. The median sales price was $837,500. In 2013 the median sales price for A Class Commercial Property in Palm Beach County was $768 per sq ft, B Class properties sold for $151/ft and C Class $58/ft.

Government Real Estate in Palm Beach County, Florida

2,642( .58%) of the properties in Palm Beach County are classified as Government. 2 of them sold between January 1st, 2013 and January 1st, 2013. The total value of these sales was $168,000. The median sales price was $84,000. In 2013 the median sales price for Government Property in Palm Beach County was $96 per sq ft.

Miscellaneous Real Estate in Palm Beach County, Florida

352( .08%) of the properties in Palm Beach County are classified as Miscellaneous. 1 of them sold between April 1st, 2013 and April 1st, 2013. The total value of these sales was $2,000,100. The median sales price was $2,000,100. In 2013 the median sales price for Miscellaneous Property in Palm Beach County was $36 per sq ft.

Residential Real Estate in Palm Beach County, Florida

0( .00%) of the properties in Palm Beach County are classified as Residential. 22,884 of them sold between January 1st, 2013 and September 1st, 2013. The total value of these sales was $9,680,224,995. The median sales price was $155,000. In 2013 the median sales price for A Class Residential Property in Palm Beach County was $161 per sq ft, B Class properties sold for $85/ft and C Class $37/ft.

Additional Details:

Palm Beach Market Data

Palm Beach Real Estate
Property UsageProperty CountTotal Sq Ft
Agricultural 2,897 15,352,142
Government Property 2,471 60,716,831
Health Care 145 11,126,520
Hotel & Motel 420 11,615,345
Industrial 4,885 55,922,084
Land 15,876 3,982,153
Miscellaneous Property 349 5,145,941
Mobile/Manufactured 3,587 3,529,791
Multifamily 11,089 83,465,686
Office 5,349 47,483,912
Residential 555,473 1,075,242,818
Retail 6,313 81,650,430
Senior Housing 49 9,917,314
Special Purpose 2,131 21,620,505
Sports & Entertaining 435 7,780,186