City · St. Lucie County, Florida

Fort Pierce, Florida

Fort Pierce is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, part of the Port St. Lucie, FL metro area. It has 49,082 residents. Fort Pierce, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,243 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #717 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on new business applications (high), comfortable days (high) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), hospital quality rating (low) and lack of reliable transportation (high).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,243 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #717 of 780 in FL
Population: 49,082 (2020-2024)
Land area: 25 mi²
Density: 1,986.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 1224300

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety43#8,858/15,637
Economy7#14,575/15,631
Housing6#14,060/14,977
Health33#10,536/15,609
Healthcare15#13,283/15,650
Environment73#4,137/15,453
Education16#13,172/15,649
Infrastructure4#15,067/15,650
Community18#12,908/15,651
Leisure & amenities22#12,146/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fort Pierce, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Lucie County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

New business applications · high23.4 /1k
95/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSt. Lucie County value
Comfortable days · high34.5%
94/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Lucie County value
Median Air Quality Index · low34
88/100Florida 422025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Lucie County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low118 min
88/100Florida 158 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Lucie County value
Depression · low19.1%
87/100Florida 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100Florida 0.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Lucie County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high68.8%
1/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Florida 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Lucie County value
Lack of reliable transportation · high18.8%
3/100Florida 9.8%United States 8.3%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Natural hazard risk · high96.5
3/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencySt. Lucie County value
Food insecurity · high35.8%
4/100Florida 17.9%United States 15.6%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · high37.5%
4/100Florida 15.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
45,329 (2015-2019) → 49,082 (2020-2024)
+8.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
8.0 /1k (2021) → 2.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−69%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.8% (2015-2019) → 85.9% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 5.3× (2020-2024)
+65%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$35,198 (2015-2019) → $47,072 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
63.2% (2015-2019) → 68.8% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Fort Pierce, Florida improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Uninsured−4.4 points23.7% → 19.3%
Broadband+13 points72.8% → 85.9%
Household income+34%$35,198 → $47,072

Declined1

Price / income+2.1×3.2× → 5.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Fort Pierce, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.2 min2015-2019	27.4 min2020-2024	+2.3 min	Within the margin of error	25%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.1%2015-2019	18.7%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Broadband subscriptions	72.8%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	73%
Child poverty rate	41.9%2015-2019	37.5%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.84%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
High school diploma or higher	78.7%2015-2019	76.5%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+2.1×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4732015-2019	0.4822020-2024	+0.010	Within the margin of error	42%
Median household income	$35,1982015-2019	$47,0722020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	29.4%2015-2019	26.2%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Public transit commuters	1.4%2015-2019	0.7%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Rent as share of income	36.0%2015-2019	39.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	63.2%2015-2019	68.8%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Unemployment rate	7.0%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.7%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Improved	84%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Fort Pierce, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fort Pierce, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Fort Pierce, Florida itself moved −5.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

49,082 residents (±36)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

18,878 households (±860)

Fort Pierce, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k28%5,366
$25k–50k24%4,602
$50k–75k19%3,613

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

18,878 households (±860)

Fort Pierce, Florida
Florida share

Own50%9,349
Rent50%9,529

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

18,537 workers (±1,341)

Fort Pierce, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone69%12,819
Carpool15%2,695
Public transit0.7%†132

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Port St. Lucie, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of St. Lucie County, the county holding most of Fort Pierce's residents.

St. Lucie County has 7,292 employer establishments, 193 for every 10,000 residents (0.78× the US rate of 248; 0.69× Florida's), with 74,865 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,147. The Census Bureau also counts 49,271 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 7,292; 49,271 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 193; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 74,865
Average annual pay: $46,147; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of St. Lucie County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	895	23.7	1.53×More than typical	5,139	$47,314	4,000
Ambulatory health care services	720	19.1	0.91×About typical	8,503	$69,932	4,016
Restaurants and other eating places	447	11.8	0.64×Fewer than typical	9,118	$22,845	253
Services to buildings and dwellings	392	10.4	1.54×More than typical	1,739	$32,148	3,963
Lessors of real estate	374	9.9	0.80×About typical	799	$39,707	3,881
Building finishing contractors	345	9.1	2.40×More than typical	1,167	$34,899	1,179
Building equipment contractors	298	7.9	1.31×More than typical	1,846	$54,876	675
Construction of buildings	275	7.3	0.96×About typical	883	$55,698	1,470
Offices of physicians	267	7.1	1.09×About typical	4,023	$91,003	295
Full-service restaurants	211	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	4,699	$25,677	109
Management, scientific and technical consulting	209	5.5	0.82×About typical	604	$52,752	1,359
Offices of other health practitioners	199	5.3	0.87×About typical	814	$49,222	1,003

Rank places for an industry Open St. Lucie County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 377,820 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fort Pierce, Florida: $98.17 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4.8M; +68% vs FY2025
Per resident: $98.17; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 24%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

MANSON CONSTRUCTION CO$2.7M56%
PERIMETER SECURITY PARTNERS, LP$1.2M24%
KIEWIT INFRASTRUCTURE SOUTH CO$270.9K5.6%
CLAXTON/LTS JV, LLC$251.5K5.2%
SECURITY INSTALL SOLUTIONS, INC.$163.3K3.4%

Spending by fiscal year

277.3KFY2017
1.4MFY2018
627.2KFY2019
2.9MFY2020
2MFY2021
640.4KFY2022
2.9MFY2023
3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$3M62%
Facilities support services · 5612$1.4M29%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$163.3K3.4%
Ship and boat building · 3366$116.2K2.4%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$95K2.0%
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors · 2381$8,798

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Fort Pierce, Florida

REPLACE GUARD BOOT & REPAIR BARRIER EQUIPMENT AT ALTO LEE FED BLG. FORT PIERCE, FL FL0030ZZ.$1.2M
PERIMETER SECURITY PARTNERS, LP· St. Lucie County, FL· Construction & real property· Sep 23, 2026 – Sep 23, 2026· 47PE5526F0769
TITLE: REPLACE AIR COOLED CHILLER. LOCATION: ALTO LEE ADAMS US COURTHOUSE 101 US HWY 1 NORTH FORT PIERCE, FL 34950$249.8K
CLAXTON/LTS JV, LLC· St. Lucie County, FL· Construction & real property· Mar 27, 2026 – Apr 10, 2026· 47PE5526F0106
EPACS EQUIPMENT, FORT PIERCE, FL$166.5K
SECURITY INSTALL SOLUTIONS, INC.· St. Lucie County, FL· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 23, 2026 – Sep 23, 2026· 47PE5526F0784

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Fort Pierce, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Fort Pierce, Florida's figures are part of those of St. Lucie County, FL ($84.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 5.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fort Pierce is mostly in St. Lucie County.

See federal money in St. Lucie County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Fort Pierce, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Brian J. MastR-FL-21 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 2.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

St. Lucie County46100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Port St. Lucie, FL60

Other cities and towns in St. Lucie County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1224300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends