Is Palm Coast, FL a good place to live?

By Jon Brooks, Co-Founder, Momentum Realty

Data as of November 12, 2026. Figures are aggregates from licensed MLS records, IRS migration files, Zillow indexes, Census income and population, and Citizens Property Insurance; sources are named where they appear.

The short answer, by the numbers

Palm Coast homes sold for a median of $359,990 over the last 12 months, -1.4% year over year. Homes take about 168 days to sell and the city holds 23.2 months of supply, which reads as a buyer’s market. Owning the median home runs about $2,266 a month with taxes and insurance, against a median household income near $77,363 (29.4% of income). Prices sit at 4.5 times local income, a stretch by the usual four-times-income yardstick.

What it costs to live in Palm Coast

The cost-to-own figure is principal and interest at today’s prevailing 30-year rate with a 20% down payment, plus the county’s median tax bill and a typical insurance premium. Your own number moves with the rate you lock and the home’s flood zone and roof. County-level income and tax figures are used where the city does not report its own.

How Palm Coast home prices have moved

Appreciation has run -0.2% over the last year, +1.1% a year over five years, +5.4% a year over ten. The median went from $342,927 in 2025 to $359,990 over the last 12 months, +5% in 1 years.

The Palm Coast market right now

Weather, flood and insurance exposure

Insurance is the line item that surprises people. Citizens, the state-backed insurer of last resort, averages $1,626 a year in Flagler County across 435 policies. Roof age, wind-mitigation features and flood zone move a quote more than anything else, so price insurance before you write an offer, not after. The Palm Coast hurricane and flood exposure page has the NOAA storm record since 1950, the share of homes in FEMA flood zones and the building-code era of the housing stock.

Who is moving to Palm Coast

IRS county-to-county returns for Flagler County show 11,393 people moving in and 7,038 moving out in the latest filing year, a net of +4,355. Out-of-state arrivals came mostly from NY, NJ, CT, CA. Households arriving reported an average adjusted gross income of $91,988 against $62,225 for those leaving. Flagler County’s population grew from 107,139 in 2018 to 126,528 (+18%), and median household income rose +44% over the same stretch.

The trade-offs, by the numbers

What the numbers argue for: Citizens average premium $1,626 a year; net migration +4,355 people a year into the county.

What the numbers argue against: price-to-income of 4.5x (above the four-times rule); 29.4% of median income to own the median home (over the 28% guideline); five-year appreciation of +1.1% a year; prices -1.4% over the last year, which favors buyers on price and hurts recent sellers; 23.2 months of supply (a buyer's market); median property tax bill $2,789 a year.

None of this describes the people who live here; it describes what it costs to buy in, what you carry each month, and how the market has treated owners. Neighborhood fit is a visit, not a statistic.

Keep researching Palm Coast

• Homes for sale in Palm Coast, FL
• Best neighborhoods in Palm Coast
• Moving to Palm Coast: the guide
• Cost of living in Palm Coast
• Palm Coast housing market tracker
• Recently sold homes in Palm Coast (aggregates)
• Flagler County property tax guide
• Palm Coast hurricane and flood risk
• How to find the best real estate agent in Palm Coast

Common questions

Market figures are aggregates as of November 12, 2026 and change over time; no individual sale is shown. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.