Population and Census Profile — Grant-Valkaria, Florida

Grant-Valkaria has about 4,921 residents in the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with a margin of error of 17 (Census table DP05, Grant-Valkaria town).

The Town of Grant-Valkaria was incorporated in 2006 and calls itself the newest town in Brevard County (Town of Grant-Valkaria history page). That makes the 2010 Census the first decennial count of Grant-Valkaria as a town. It recorded 3,850 people (2010 Census table P1, Grant-Valkaria town). The 2020 Census recorded 4,509 (2020 Census table P1, Grant-Valkaria town), a gain of 659 residents, or 17.1 percent, in ten years (4,509 minus 3,850 is 659; 659 divided by 3,850 is 0.171).

Those residents are spread thin. The Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer gives Grant-Valkaria 27.227 square miles of land and 3.033 square miles of water (Census 2024 Gazetteer, Florida places), so the ACS estimate works out to about 181 people per square mile (4,921 divided by 27.227). The town's history runs along the banks of the Indian River Lagoon, and Valkaria Airport sits on Valkaria Road about 1.7 miles west of U.S. 1 (Town of Grant-Valkaria, Valkaria Airport page).

The 4,921 figure and the two census counts are different kinds of numbers. The 2010 and 2020 totals are full counts tied to Census Day; the ACS total is a survey estimate pooled from five years of samples. The gap between 4,509 and 4,921 is therefore not a measure of Grant-Valkaria growth since 2020, and this page does not treat it as one.

The median Grant-Valkaria resident is 59.7 years old, 13.0 years older than the Brevard County median of 46.7 and 17.1 years older than the Florida median of 42.6 (Census table DP05, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP05, Brevard County; Census table DP05, Florida).

Retirement age dominates the town's profile. The ACS puts 2,035 Grant-Valkaria residents, or 41.4 percent, at 65 or older, against 24.5 percent in Brevard County and 21.3 percent in Florida. The single largest age band is 65 to 74, at 24.3 percent of all residents on its own (Census table DP05, Grant-Valkaria town).

Children and young adults are scarce by comparison. Grant-Valkaria residents under 18 make up 10.2 percent of the population, well below the Brevard County share of 18.1 percent (Census table DP05, Brevard County), and people aged 25 to 34 are only 3.7 percent, with a margin of error of 2.1 points. In 59.2 percent of Grant-Valkaria households at least one person is 65 or older, compared with 41.5 percent across Brevard County (Census table DP02, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP02, Brevard County).

The neighbors are younger. Palm Bay, the neighboring city, has a median age of 41.0 (Census table DP05, Palm Bay), and Malabar, a town of 3,066 residents in the same ACS release, has 53.1 (Census table DP05, Malabar).

Grant-Valkaria's median household income is $119,583 in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars, $41,107 above the Brevard County median of $78,476 (Census table DP03, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP03, Brevard County).

The estimate is loose: its margin of error is $26,721, so the Grant-Valkaria median could sit anywhere from about $92,862 to $146,304 (119,583 minus and plus 26,721). Even the bottom of that range is well above the Florida median of $74,568 (Census table DP03, Florida). Per capita income, which divides all income by all residents, is $52,512 in Grant-Valkaria, against $44,108 for Brevard County.

A quarter of Grant-Valkaria households, 25.2 percent, report $200,000 or more a year, more than double the Brevard County share of 11.1 percent. Malabar runs higher still on the median, at $128,698 (Census table DP03, Malabar), while Palm Bay sits at $72,614 (Census table DP03, Palm Bay).

Much of that income does not come from a paycheck. Social Security reaches 57.1 percent of Grant-Valkaria households and retirement income 52.2 percent, compared with 42.0 percent and 33.3 percent across Brevard County. Only 38.5 percent of Grant-Valkaria residents 16 and older are in the labor force, against 56.7 percent countywide (Census table DP03, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP03, Brevard County).

Among Grant-Valkaria residents who do work, 50.5 percent hold management, business, science and arts occupations, and manufacturing employs 19.3 percent, well above the Brevard County share of 12.4 percent and the Florida share of 5.3 percent. The town's own history page describes Grant-Valkaria as home to many engineers and technical personnel (Town of Grant-Valkaria history page). Poverty is low: 6.8 percent of Grant-Valkaria residents, compared with 10.2 percent in Brevard County and 12.6 percent in Florida.

Grant-Valkaria is a town of owner-occupied single-family houses: 97.4 percent of its occupied homes are owned by the people living in them, and 96.3 percent of all housing units are detached one-unit houses (Census table DP04, Grant-Valkaria town).

The ACS counts 1,978 Grant-Valkaria households, and 78.6 percent of them are married couples, compared with 48.3 percent in Brevard County and 46.7 percent in Florida. The average Grant-Valkaria household holds 2.49 people (Census table DP02, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP02, Brevard County; Census table DP02, Florida).

The town has 2,207 housing units in the 2020-2024 estimates. Renters occupy 2.6 percent of occupied homes, about 51 units, against 23.3 percent in Brevard County. The median value of an owner-occupied Grant-Valkaria home is $550,400, compared with $339,600 for Brevard County and $359,000 for Florida (Census table DP04, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP04, Brevard County; Census table DP04, Florida).

The rural pattern has deep roots. The Town of Grant-Valkaria history page says a cattle ranch, a large wholesale nursery and orange groves still keep the town's agricultural past alive, and that marinas and waterfront restaurants recall its fishing legacy; the same page traces the town's long history along the banks of the Indian River Lagoon (Town of Grant-Valkaria history page).

Most Grant-Valkaria residents were born somewhere else in the United States: 69.7 percent were born in a different state, against 54.3 percent in Brevard County and 38.7 percent in Florida (Census table DP02, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP02, Brevard County; Census table DP02, Florida).

Schooling runs slightly above the county. Among Grant-Valkaria residents 25 and older, 38.0 percent hold a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 34.2 percent in Brevard County and 34.1 percent in Florida (Census table DP02, Grant-Valkaria town). Veterans are a large group as well: 720 civilian veterans, or 16.3 percent of Grant-Valkaria civilians 18 and older, in the same ACS table.

Grant-Valkaria is less diverse than the county or the state. The ACS counts 86.5 percent of residents as non-Hispanic white and 5.3 percent as Hispanic or Latino of any race, compared with 70.2 percent and 12.2 percent in Brevard County and 50.4 percent and 27.4 percent in Florida (Census table DP05, Grant-Valkaria town; Census table DP05, Brevard County; Census table DP05, Florida).

The newcomers join a place with a long settled history. The Valkaria post office was established in 1890 and the Grant post office on August 4, 1891, and the Jorgensen General Store opened in 1894, according to the Town of Grant-Valkaria history page (Town of Grant-Valkaria history page).

Most Grant-Valkaria figures from the ACS are sample estimates with wide margins of error, so small gaps between the town and Brevard County should be read with care.

The Grant-Valkaria share of residents 65 and older, 41.4 percent, carries a margin of 7.1 points, so the true share could be anywhere from about 34.3 to 48.5 percent (Census table DP05, Grant-Valkaria town). The median age of 59.7 carries a margin of 5.1 years. Even at the low end of either range, Grant-Valkaria is older than Brevard County.

The population total is tighter, with a margin of 17 on 4,921. The Census Bureau publishes Grant-Valkaria as an incorporated town (place code 1227256), so these figures stop at the town limits and do not include neighboring Palm Bay, which is a separate place in the same tables (Census table DP05, Palm Bay). The town's history page records that residents incorporated after years of trying to convince Brevard County government and the neighboring City of Palm Bay to encourage growth compatible with rural character (Town of Grant-Valkaria history page).

Every Grant-Valkaria income figure on this page is in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars, as the Census Bureau labels them in table DP03 (Census table DP03, Grant-Valkaria town), and every ACS percentage comes from the 2020-2024 5-year release, the same vintage for the town, Brevard County and Florida.