Cost of Living in Palm Coast, Florida: The 2026 Numbers

By Jon Brooks, Co-Founder, Momentum Realty · Updated September 30, 2026

Palm Coast is in Flagler County, Florida (ZIP codes 32137, 32164). · Homes for sale in Palm Coast · Flagler County

Cost of living in Palm Coast, FL (2026): owning the median home — $455,000 over the last 12 months of sales — costs about $3,059 a month with 20% down at 7.03% (principal and interest $2,429, Flagler County property tax about $494, insurance about $136 at the Citizens county average). For comparison, a typical rental across the same ZIP codes runs about $1,956 a month (Zillow Observed Rent Index), so buying costs roughly $1,103 more per month than renting before equity and tax treatment. Florida has no state income tax; the costs that move the most between Florida cities are the home price, property tax at your purchase price, and insurance.

What it costs to own a home in Palm Coast, line by line

The median Palm Coast home sold for $455,000 over the last 12 months (143 closings across 33 communities), about $221 per square foot for a typical 1,908 sq ft. Here is what that home costs a new owner each month:

Two of those lines are the ones out-of-state buyers get wrong. The property tax on a listing is the seller’s capped bill; yours resets to your purchase price at closing, so the figure above is the honest first-full-year number. And the insurance line is a county average from Citizens; a real quote on a specific roof and flood zone can be far from it in either direction.

Is it cheaper to buy or rent in Palm Coast?

For buyers weighing the move from renting: the Zillow Observed Rent Index across the ZIP codes where Palm Coast homes sell puts a typical rent at about $1,956 a month, up 2.2% over the past year. Owning the median home costs about $3,059, so the monthly gap is roughly $1,103 more to own before tax treatment, maintenance and equity. Across those ZIPs the median household income is about $78,731, and the price-to-income ratio runs about 4.9.

What your budget buys in Palm Coast

Three price points from 95 recent closings, each with what actually sold within 10% of that price and what that home costs to own:

• Around $345,000: a 3-bed, 2-bath home of about 1,771 sq ft, built around 2002 — roughly $2,337/month to own (20 sales).
• Around $455,000: a 3-bed, 2.5-bath home of about 2,235 sq ft, built around 2003 — roughly $3,059/month to own (13 sales).
• Around $641,702: a 3-bed, 3-bath home of about 2,455 sq ft, built around 2007 — roughly $4,284/month to own (13 sales).

Property taxes in Palm Coast

Flagler County’s typical total millage is 14.65 mills, about 1.46% of taxable value. After the $50,000 homestead exemption the median home’s bill is about $5,932 a year. Once you homestead, Florida’s Save Our Homes cap limits assessment growth to 3% a year, which is why long-time owners pay far less than a new buyer in the same house. Full worksheet: Flagler County property tax guide.

Home insurance in Palm Coast

Citizens Property Insurance’s average premium in Flagler County is about $1,626 a year. City-level estimate, ZIP by ZIP: cost of home insurance in Palm Coast. Florida premiums are driven by roof age, wind-mitigation features, distance to the coast and the FEMA flood zone, which is why two houses on one street can quote thousands apart. Get a quote on the specific address before you write an offer, and order a wind-mitigation inspection on any older roof. See home insurance by county. That premium is 58% of the county’s median property tax bill ($2,789); see Florida home insurance vs. property tax by county.

HOA and CDD fees in Palm Coast

26% of current Palm Coast listings carry an HOA, with a median of $320 a month where one applies. About 13% of recent sales were new construction, and most newer master-planned communities also carry a CDD assessment that appears on the tax bill rather than the HOA statement — ask for it on every home. Neither is included in the monthly figure above unless the HOA line says so.

Palm Coast compared with other Florida cities

Same method, same day, for the Florida cities we track most closely: median sale over the last 12 months and the monthly cost of owning that median home, the typical rent, and the county’s Citizens average premium.

What this page does not estimate

Groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare vary less between Florida cities than housing does and are not modeled here; national cost-of-living indices cover them reasonably well. What those indices routinely miss is Florida homeowners insurance and the property-tax reset at purchase, which is why this page is built around them.

Common questions about the cost of living in Palm Coast

Home prices and HOA figures are Momentum Realty’s MLS record of Palm Coast communities as of 2026-09-30; rent, income and price-to-income are Zillow and Census figures by ZIP code pooled over the ZIPs where Palm Coast homes sell; tax and insurance are Flagler County figures. Estimates, not quotes. General information, not financial advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.