Moving to
Merritt Island.

All Merritt Island data Compare Merritt Island

34,992people live here $94,012median household income▲ 16% above US $1,441median rent per monthNear US average $402,900median home value▲ 21% above US

Merritt Island is an unincorporated community in Brevard County, FL. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Merritt Island

Merritt Island is an unincorporated community in Florida with household incomes running above the national average, air quality that stays clean most of the year, a highly educated workforce, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Merritt Island deals with a population that has been shrinking, hot summers, above-average rainfall, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes
Clean air
Highly educated workforce
Average class sizes

The not so good

Shrinking population
Hot summers
Above-average rainfall
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options

How Merritt Island compares

Median household income

Merritt Island$94,012

Florida avg$74,568

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Merritt Island$1,441

Florida avg$1,669

US$1,413

Median home value

Merritt Island$402,900

Florida avg$359,000

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Merritt Island

Based on Merritt Island's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,882

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $57,640 a year
48% of Merritt Island renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$80,580

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $40,290
Homes cost 4.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,441/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,441 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $402,900. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $402,900 · 48% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.2% county unemployment

Unemployment in Brevard County is 4.2%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Brevard County (county-wide)

Safety

121 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Merritt Island doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Brevard County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 528/100k · Policed by Brevard County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

25 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 25.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 19% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

72%

Work from home

19%

Carpool

6.4%

Other

1.9%

Public transit

0.3%

Walk

0.2%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 90°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 52°F. It's a wet climate overall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 14% above US

41% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 41% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

8 public schools inside the boundary

There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Canaveral National Seashore (30 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Merritt Island's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and air quality that stays clean most of the year; the main tradeoffs are a population that has been shrinking and hot summers. A year of median rent ($1,441/mo) equals 18% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals.

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