Census-designated place · Martin County, Florida

Hobe Sound, Florida

Hobe Sound is a census-designated place in Martin County, Florida, part of the Port St. Lucie, FL metro area. It has 13,817 residents. Hobe Sound, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,029 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #262 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), rent-burdened households (high) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,029 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #262 of 780 in FL
Population: 13,817 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 1,944.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1230975

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety58#6,513/15,637
Economy35#10,104/15,631
Housing3#14,495/14,977
Health71#4,499/15,609
Healthcare48#8,191/15,650
Environment77#3,507/15,453
Education50#7,769/15,649
Infrastructure24#11,956/15,650
Community78#3,363/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#654/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hobe Sound, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Martin 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

Restaurants and bars · high15.0 /10k
95/100Florida 9.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMartin County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high9.3 /10k
94/100Florida 5.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMartin County value
New business applications · high21.8 /1k
93/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMartin County value
Voter turnout · high77.4%
92/100Florida 68.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionMartin County value
Comfortable days · high32.6%
89/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMartin County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high96.7%
86/100Florida 87.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMartin County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high97.4
3/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMartin County value
Rent-burdened households · high57.9%
4/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high20.2%
7/100Florida 13.7%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Rent as share of income · high33.3%
8/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Hot days · high104 days
8/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMartin County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.494
9/100Florida 0.485United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
11.5% (2015-2019) → 29.8% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.7% (2015-2019) → 57.9% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.1× (2015-2019) → 6.2× (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.8% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
25.8% (2015-2019) → 33.3% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,030 (2015-2019) → $63,484 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Hobe Sound, Florida improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 8 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.

Improved2

Broadband+9.5 points80.8% → 90.3%
Household income+27%$50,030 → $63,484

Declined4

Price / income+2.1×4.1× → 6.2×
Child poverty+18 points11.5% → 29.8%
Rent burden+17 points40.7% → 57.9%
Rent / income+7.5 points25.8% → 33.3%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Hobe Sound, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.4 min2015-2019	28.5 min2020-2024	+1.2 min	Within the margin of error	35%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.5%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Broadband subscriptions	80.8%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+9.5 points	Improved	57%
Child poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	5%
Effective property tax rate	0.84%2015-2019	0.64%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
High school diploma or higher	88.9%2015-2019	92.7%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	4.1×2015-2019	6.2×2020-2024	+2.1×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5492015-2019	0.4942020-2024	−0.055	Within the margin of error	86%
Median household income	$50,0302015-2019	$63,4842020-2024	+27%	Improved	48%
Poverty rate	11.3%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Rent as share of income	25.8%2015-2019	33.3%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Declined	14%
Rent-burdened households	40.7%2015-2019	57.9%2020-2024	+17 points	Declined	12%
Unemployment rate	7.9%2015-2019	6.4%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.5%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	11%

“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 Hobe Sound, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hobe Sound, 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, Hobe Sound, Florida itself moved −9.3 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

13,817 residents (±1,548)

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

6,185 households (±530)

Hobe Sound, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k19%1,166
$25k–50k23%†1,396
$50k–75k17%1,044

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,185 households (±530)

Hobe Sound, Florida
Florida share

Own78%4,811
Rent22%1,374

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

5,664 workers (±894)

Hobe Sound, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone66%3,723
Carpool12%†705
Public transit0.0%0

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 Martin County, the county holding most of Hobe Sound's residents.

Martin County has 6,400 employer establishments, 390 for every 10,000 residents (1.57× the US rate of 248; 1.39× Florida's), with 67,697 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,617. The Census Bureau also counts 20,553 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,400; 20,553 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 390; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 67,697
Average annual pay: $49,617; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	530	32.3	1.55×More than typical	8,815	$54,449	1,231
Specialty trade contractors	525	32	2.07×More than typical	3,660	$54,089	1,206
Restaurants and other eating places	395	24.1	1.31×More than typical	7,855	$23,975	108
Lessors of real estate	358	21.8	1.77×More than typical	780	$51,512	3,139
Services to buildings and dwellings	352	21.5	3.18×More than typical	2,348	$43,526	1,325
Management, scientific and technical consulting	243	14.8	2.21×More than typical	618	$82,591	1,016
Landscaping services	216	13.2	3.76×More than typical	1,822	$45,347	361
Full-service restaurants	215	13.1	1.71×More than typical	5,220	$26,360	47
Construction of buildings	197	12	1.59×More than typical	916	$66,171	445
Offices of other health practitioners	181	11	1.82×More than typical	3,878	$32,178	590
Real estate agents and brokers	179	10.9	2.24×More than typical	261	$50,134	1,063
Building finishing contractors	175	10.7	2.81×More than typical	815	$44,921	376

Rank places for an industry Open Martin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 163,996 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 $115.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hobe Sound, Florida: $8.35 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $115.3K; +31% vs FY2025
Per resident: $8.35; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$115.3K100%

Top recipients

WRIGHT BROS LLC$94.5K82%
EARTHBALANCE CORPORATION$5,9305.1%
KEE SOLUTIONS LLC$4,5203.9%
ADVANCED WILDLIFE SOLUTIONS LLC$3,7683.3%
ARIENS CO$3,1142.7%
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, INC.$1,5701.4%
BRADLEY HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING, INC.$1,1161.0%
QUEEN'S PLUMBING CORPORATION$8540.7%

Spending by fiscal year

118.8KFY2017
31.6KFY2018
22KFY2019
88.4KFY2020
23.3KFY2021
10KFY2022
541.3KFY2023
14KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$99K86%
Support activities for forestry · 1153$5,9305.1%
Hunting and trapping · 1142$3,7683.3%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$3,1142.7%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$1,5701.4%
Building equipment contractors · 2382

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 Hobe Sound, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Hobe Sound, Florida's figures are part of those of Martin County, FL ($14.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.8% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Hobe Sound is mostly in Martin County.

See federal money in Martin 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.

Hobe Sound, 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.

Martin County82100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Port St. Lucie, FL60

Other cities and towns in Martin 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
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/1230975

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends