City · Martin County, Florida

Stuart, Florida

Stuart is a city in Martin County, Florida, part of the Port St. Lucie, FL metro area. It has 18,520 residents. Stuart, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,707 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #236 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 rent-burdened households (high), natural hazard risk (high) and rent as share of income (high).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,707 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #236 of 780 in FL
Population: 18,520 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 2,599.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 1268875

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.

Safety58#6,513/15,637
Economy31#10,794/15,631
Housing4#14,409/14,977
Health67#5,084/15,609
Healthcare53#7,431/15,650
Environment77#3,507/15,453
Education58#6,529/15,649
Infrastructure30#11,009/15,650
Community78#3,363/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#654/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Stuart, 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

Rent-burdened households · high69.3%
1/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Natural hazard risk · high97.4
3/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMartin County value
Rent as share of income · high42.7%
6/100Florida 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
Home price to income ratio · high5.5×
15/100Florida 4.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Students per teacher · high17.9×
15/100Florida 18.3×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsMartin County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
16,161 (2015-2019) → 18,520 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
20.0 /1k (2021) → 0.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−99%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
57.9% (2015-2019) → 69.3% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.2% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.9× (2015-2019) → 5.5× (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.5% (2015-2019) → 35.1% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Stuart, Florida improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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

Bachelor's++7.5 points27.5% → 35.1%
Broadband+10 points80.2% → 90.3%
Household income+26%$47,921 → $60,225

Declined2

Unemployment+5.4 points2.8% → 8.2%
Price / income+1.6×3.9× → 5.5×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Stuart, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.3 min2015-2019	24.6 min2020-2024	+2.3 min	Within the margin of error	25%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.5%2015-2019	35.1%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Improved	82%
Broadband subscriptions	80.2%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	60%
Child poverty rate	19.6%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Effective property tax rate	0.75%2015-2019	0.67%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	91.4%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	5.5×2020-2024	+1.6×	Declined	8%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5052015-2019	0.4742020-2024	−0.031	Within the margin of error	75%
Median household income	$47,9212015-2019	$60,2252020-2024	+26%	Improved	46%
Poverty rate	12.8%2015-2019	17.3%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	35.2%2015-2019	42.7%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Rent-burdened households	57.9%2015-2019	69.3%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Unemployment rate	2.8%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Declined	3%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.1%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	50%

“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 Stuart, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stuart, 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, Stuart, Florida itself moved −2.9 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

18,520 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

8,060 households (±499)

Stuart, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k17%1,352
$25k–50k27%2,216
$50k–75k12%955

Homes

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

Owners and renters

8,060 households (±499)

Stuart, Florida
Florida share

Own59%4,744
Rent41%3,316

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

7,824 workers (±669)

Stuart, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone75%5,878
Carpool3.7%†286
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 Stuart'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 $304.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Stuart, Florida: $16.46 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $304.9K; −82% vs FY2025
Per resident: $16.46; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 20%; 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

Bureau of Engraving and Printing$101.3K33%
Department of Veterans Affairs$52.7K17%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$49.2K16%
Federal Acquisition Service$47.7K16%
Department of the Navy$23K7.6%
National Park Service$14.1K4.6%
Department of State$8,1442.7%
Forest Service$7,8652.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

11.6MFY2017
3.2MFY2018
1.2MFY2019
1.6MFY2020
3.2MFY2021
1MFY2022
557KFY2023
558.7K

Top industries (NAICS)

Hardware manufacturing · 3325$106.9K35%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$101.3K33%
Soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparation manufacturing · 3256$70.3K23%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$64K21%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$48.9K16%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Stuart, Florida

8512103539!CONTAIN,FMTV COMPAT$134.5K
SOLUTIONS FTG, INC.· Martin County, FL· Other equipment & supplies· May 13, 2026 – May 15, 2026· SPE8ED26P0836
EXPRESS REPORT: COMMUNITY NURSING HOME$80.1K
STUART REHAB & HEALTHCARE LLC· Martin County, FL· Health & medical· Feb 7, 2026 – Feb 7, 2026· 36C24826K0019
8504222716!CONTAINER,PLL$42.7K
SESOLINC GRP, INC.· Martin County, FL· Other equipment & supplies· Mar 21, 2017 – Jun 1, 2026· SPE8ED17P0640
8511616012!CONTAINER,VERTICAL$4,912

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 Stuart, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Stuart, Florida's figures are part of those of Martin County, FL ($14.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Stuart 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.

Stuart, 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
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/1268875

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends