Valparaiso, Florida

Population

Growing. Up 2.7% since 2020.

4,896

people, the 231st-largest of Florida's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Florida's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

95.8%

of 3,633 jobs located in Valparaiso are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 75% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,366

a month. Florida's median is $1,669.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,289 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Okaloosa County.

• $858 Tract 201.02
• $2,147 Tract 203.03

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,335–$2,003

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,366 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

73% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 298 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 5% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 73% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–1.8% to the 2,050 homes here.

5–36

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 10% more than Florida's.

$394,700

median home value in Valparaiso.

• $394,700 Valparaiso
• $359,000 Florida
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year