City safety & data profile
Fort Walton BeachFL
Fort Walton Beach, FL is a 22K-resident city in Okaloosa County with a median household income of $68,538.
Okaloosa County, Florida. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Fort Walton Beach, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Fort Walton Beach has a population larger than 48% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $321,800, and 1 hospital serving the surrounding area.
Data updated 2026-07-20
- 22K
- Population
- Top 52%
- By size
- $68,538
- Median income
- $321,800
- Median home
- 13.3%
- Poverty rate
The read on Fort Walton Beach
Fort Walton Beach posts a median household income higher than 35% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 1 hospital serves the Fort Walton Beach area.
- Top 65%
- by median income, US cities
- 1
- hospital in & near Fort Walton Beach
Where Fort Walton Beach income ranks nationally
Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)
$68,538 Bottom 35% higher than 35% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year
The quick read
Reading Fort Walton Beach, FL beyond the headline numbers
Fort Walton Beach sits inside Okaloosa County, Florida, at roughly 30.42°N, -86.62°W. Population 21,817, $68,538 median household income. Median home value $321,800, median rent $1,307. Poverty rate 13.3%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.
CDC PLACES: Fort Walton Beach's highest-prevalence health measure is short sleep duration at 37.2%, then high blood pressure at 35.8%. 1 hospital in/around Fort Walton Beach, 3/5 avg rating, 1 with an ER.
Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Fort Walton Beach from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Comparison bars benchmark each metric against the national reference.
10-Year Trends 2013–2024
County-level trend (Okaloosa County) - Fort Walton Beach's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.
Economics
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Rent | |
| Poverty Rate | 13.3% -6% vs avg |
| Unemployment | 3.2% |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | 29.7% |
| Work From Home | 8.4% |
| Public Transit | 0.4% |
Population
Health Profile 15 measures
Health Indicators
Preventive Care
Other Measures
Hospitals 1 total
Frequently Asked Questions 6
What is the population of Fort Walton Beach, FL? ▼
What is the median household income in Fort Walton Beach? ▼
What is the median home value in Fort Walton Beach? ▼
What are the top health concerns in Fort Walton Beach? ▼
How many hospitals are in Fort Walton Beach? ▼
What is the median age in Fort Walton Beach? ▼
Safety Context
Fort Walton Beach, FL is located in Okaloosa County, Florida. With a population of 22K and a $68,538 median household income, the community faces health challenges including short sleep duration and high blood pressure. Residents have access to 1 hospital with an average rating of 3/5 stars. Safety alerts for the Fort Walton Beach area are monitored from federal and state agencies including FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC.
Safety Guides
Primary source data
EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data
Federal monitoring network, every measurement we report
AirNow - Florida
Real-time AQI for every monitored Florida location
National Weather Service
NOAA active watches, warnings, advisories
CDC Air Quality & Health
Health-impact reference for every AQI category
EPA NAAQS standards
National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the regulatory thresholds
Nearby Cities 8
Using Fort Walton Beach's profile
Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.
- Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Fort Walton Beach area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
- Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
- Compare Fort Walton Beach against Florida peers on any ranking lens. Explore Florida
Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city.
Data Sources
All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Okaloosa County) where that is the smallest published unit.
Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census, CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.