Palm Beach, Florida, features some of the nicest retirement homes in the country. Everyone has seen video of the sprawling, multi-million dollar mansions like Mar-A-Lago that line A1A on Palm Beach Island in West Palm Beach. Lesser known to the general public, however, are the seven small-but-fancy retirement cities that dot the east coast around Palm Beach County on the Atlantic Ocean. While these cities might be small in population, they’re big in features that matter to affluent, retired professionals.
The average median value of an owner occupied housing unit in Florida was $292,000 in 2022. The West Palm Beach-Fort Lauderdale metro area was slightly more pricey in 2022, at around $307,000, according to the US Census Bureau. Retirement homes in these seven small coastal cities are at least twice the local metro average. On Jupiter Island and Manalapan, home prices can soar into the tens of millions.
Each of these seven small coastal cities near Palm Beach County have less than 1,800 residents each. Only 461 people live in Jupiter Inlet Colony, the smallest of the seven. These seven, small coastal retirement communities on the Atlantic Ocean, which range from super-affluent to comfortably nice, include:
- Jupiter Island – one of the wealthiest zip codes in the nation, it’s on a barrier island
- Jupiter Inlet Colony – only eight roads in town, but there’s a beach club for residents
- Palm Beach Shores – developed in the 1950’s, the most affordable of the bunch
- Manalapan – top luxury, the Atlantic Ocean in front and Intracoastal Waterway out back
- Ocean Ridge – formerly part of Boynton Beach, now one of the top 100 places to retire
- Briny Breezes – a town of almost 500 mobile homes surrounded by luxurious mansions
- Gulf Stream – built in the mid 1920’s, it was famed for its golf clubs and polo clubs
Seven Small Communities for the Affluent Retiree in South Florida
About 8.2 million people made interstate moves in the United States in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau. American Van Lines books more than 8,000 long-distance moves each year from our Pompano Beach headquarters. About 10% of those long-distance moves originate in Florida. Successful people from all over the United States are clamoring for a long-distance moving company to move them to an exclusive, small city near Palm Beach County on Florida’s east coast.
Jupiter Island covers the most land – nearly 3 1/2 square miles – of any of the seven cities. The other six small coastal city retirement enclaves near Palm Beach County each occupy less than one square mile in area. A couple of the towns that feature beach apartments and condos are more densely populated than the other small coastal communities in Palm Beach County. Ocean Ridge has more than 1,700 people occupying just 0.8 square miles, while Palm Beach Shores fits more than 1,200 people into less than half that space. The remaining five small enclaves each have less than 1,000 inhabitants.
Jupiter Island
- North of Jupiter Inlet Colony
- South of SeaBranch Preserve State Park
- Between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean on S. Beach Road
- 879 people in 3.6 square miles, a quarter of which is water.
- 350 households
- Median age 60
- 8.7% moved in 2021
- $2 million for median home value
- Nearly $150,000 median household income
- Reference: https://cleargov.com/florida/martin/town/jupiter-island/demographics
Four of the seven high-dollar, smaller coast communities in Palm Beach County displayed median home valuations of around $2 million each in 2022: Jupiter Island, Jupiter Inlet Colony, Manalapan and Gulf Streams. Residences in Ocean Ridge go for about $1 million each, while homes in Palm Beach Shores average around $620,000. Even quirky Briny Breezes, where all of the houses are prefab trailers, has average home valuations above $220,000 due to its prime location, according to the US Census Bureau.
The cities’ small footprints provide them with an air of exclusivity. Less than 3,100 households total are located in these seven small Palm Beach County retirement communities. Five of the seven cities have less than 400 households in town. Many of the residents of these cities are part-timers who only visit during the winter.
Residences Between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean
The three reasons people move are to improve their housing situation, to be closer to family or to take a new job. Slightly below 15% of Florida residents reported moving to another city in America in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau. In the West Palm Beach-Fort Lauderdale metro area, about 12% of residents said they relocated in 2022. With more than half of all moves happening within the same county, people call local moving companies most frequently. The seven small communities near Palm Beach County occupy some of the most valuable property on Florida’s east coast.
The line of exclusive, small coastal city retirement communities stretches south down the east coast of Florida in Palm Beach County. Jupiter Island, which has Hobe Sound at its northernmost inhabited town, is a barrier island that reaches from Port St. Lucie in Martin County to the Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County. The island, more than 17 miles long, features two luxurious, high-class retirement locations: Jupiter Island and Jupiter Inlet Colony.
Jupiter Inlet Colony
- Southern tip of Jupiter Island
- North of Jupiter Inlet
- West of the Jupiter Lighthouse across the Indian River
- 461 people in 0.2 square miles
- 229 housing units
- 192 households
- Median age nearly 58
- $2 million median value of owner occupied housing unit
- $135,000 average median household income
- More than $111,000 per capita income
- Reference: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US1235900-jupiter-inlet-colony-fl/
About 15 miles south of Jupiter Inlet, Palm Beach Shores rests on the southern tip of Singer Island east of Lake Worth Lagoon. A little further south, Manalapan, one of the ritziest addresses in the country, is located east of Lantana. Manalapan occupies both an island in the Intracoastal Waterway and a barrier island with ocean-front property.
Palm Beach Shores
- Southern tip of Singer Island
- East of the Intracoastal, west of the Atlantic Ocean
- Just east of Peanut Island, which sits in the Intracoastal
- 1,217 in 0.3 square miles
- 727 households
- 1,235 housing units
- 60 median age
- 16% moved in 2021
- $79,000 per capita income
- $78,000 average household income
- Almost $620,000 median value of owner occupied housing unit
- Reference: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US1254150-palm-beach-shores-fl/
A string of three exclusive small communities – Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream – is located just south of Manalapan on the barrier island between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. Ocean Ridge is south of the Boynton Beach Inlet. Briny Breezes is one of only two mobile-home parks incorporated as towns in America. Gulf Stream is the neighborhood that surrounds the Gulf Stream Country Club on the barrier island north of Delray Beach.
Ocean Ridge
- South of Inlet Park
- North of Briny Breezes
- 1,712 people in 0.8 square miles
- 891 households
- Median age of 60
- 10.6% moved in 2021
- $1,055,00 median value of owner occupied housing unit
- More than $126,000 per capita income
- Nearly $108,000 average median household income
- Reference: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US1250950-ocean-ridge-fl/#geographical-mobility
Affluent Seniors Retiring to Small Communities on the East Coast
Rich retirees are moving to these seven tiny coastal communities in Palm Beach County. They’re the ones who can afford it. They’re the ones who don’t need to look for work. So it makes sense that the average resident of one the seven small coastal retirement communities in Palm Beach County is nearly 50% older than the average Florida resident.
The average age for Florida residents in 2022 was around 42 years old. For metro West Palm Beach-Fort Lauderdale, the average age is nearly the same as the rest of the state. The average age of Briny Breeze residents is 72. They’re mostly snowbirds who migrate to their trailers for the winter. In Manalapan, the average age is 63 and in Gulf Stream it’s 62. The other four communities have average ages that range between 58 and 60.
Briny Breezes
- South of Ocean Ridge
- North of Gulf Stream
- Between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean on A1A
- 570 people in 0.1 square miles
- Almost 72 years old median age
- 343 households
- 729 housing units
- 9.5% moved in 2021
- More than $53,000 per capita income
- More than $60,000 average median household income
- More than $221,000 median home value
- Reference: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US1208575-briny-breezes-fl/
Overall, 21% of Florida residents are more than 65 years old. That’s more than 4 million people. Nearly 350,000 people over the age of 65 live in Palm Beach County. That’s about 24% of the county’s population that has reached the age of retirement. For people who can afford the housing, Palm Beach County is one of the best places to retire in the United States.
Moving companies for seniors are in high demand in Palm Beach County. Florida was the top destination for retirees again in 2022. More than 75,000 people retired to Florida in 2022. Of the people who chose to retire to another state in 2022, 16% of them chose to move to Florida. Florida is the top destination for people who leave New York, and it’s the second most popular destination (after Texas) for people exiting California. The east coast of south Florida is just one of the places people are retiring to in Florida.
Manalapan
- Occupies southern portion of Hypoluxo Island in the Intracoastal Waterway just east of Lantana
- Also includes the barrier island south of E. Ocean Avenue and north of Boynton Inlet.
- 326 people in 0.4 square miles
- 162 households
- 345 housing units
- Average age above 63
- 5.8% moved in 2021
- $2 million median value of owner occupied housing unit
- $162,000 median household income
- Almost $195,000 per capita income
- https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US1242700-manalapan-fl/
If You Have the Money, Coastal Palm Beach County is a Great Place
The seven coastal cities in Palm Beach County are great places to retire if you have plenty of money. In Florida, the median household income was around $68,000 per year in 2022. The average per capita income hovered near $39,000. For people who live in these seven small coastal cities, their income was at least twice the average yearly wages of a typical Florida resident.
Gulf Stream residents lead the way with an average income of $220,000 per year. Manalapan residents claim nearly $200,000 in personal income each year. People make more than $135,000 per year on average on Jupiter Island and in Jupiter Inlet Colony. A couple places are more reasonable. Average personal income in Palm Beach Shores is around $78,000 per year, while in Briny Breezes the average person makes around $60,000 per year. So it is possible to live on a budget on the coast in Palm Beach County.
Gulf Stream
- North of Delray Beach
- South of Briny Breezes
- Between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean on A1A
- 848 people in .08 miles
- 392 households
- Almost 62 median age
- 9.6% moved in 2021
- $2 million median value of owner occupied housing unit
- More than $227,000 average household income
- Almost $220,000 per capita income
- Reference: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US1228275-gulf-stream-fl/
Well, that’s what it costs to live in a small retirement town on the east coast of Palm Beach County. Each of the seven affluent coastal towns has its own special appeal, from high-rise views to old Florida charm. With more than 25 years of long-distance moving experience, American Van Lines is your choice for an exclusive moving company in Palm Beach County. Call American Van Lines today for free moving quotes to any of these seven small coastal communities in Palm Beach County. Make your move to Florida with American Van Lines.
