Satellite Beach, Florida: City Guide

Satellite Beach is a Brevard County city on the barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River, just south of Patrick Air Force Base.

The City of Satellite Beach history page describes three square miles of land bordered by Patrick Air Force Base to the north, Indian Harbour Beach to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Banana River to the west. Satellite Beach City Hall sits at 565 Cassia Boulevard, Satellite Beach, FL 32937, phone (321) 773-4407 ext. 226, according to the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections municipal directory.

The Census Bureau measures Satellite Beach a little differently from the city. The 2024 Census gazetteer for Florida places lists Satellite Beach city at 2.921 square miles of land and 1.366 square miles of water. The city page describes three square miles of land, while the gazetteer reports land and water separately.

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates put Satellite Beach at 11,313 people in Satellite Beach, with a median age of 42.6.

In that release, 18.3 percent of Satellite Beach residents were 65 or older (ACS 2024 DP05 for Satellite Beach). Median household income was $119,134, and Satellite Beach workers averaged 27.5 minutes to get to work (ACS 2024 DP03 for Satellite Beach).

Housing in Satellite Beach is mostly owner occupied. The survey estimates 4,933 housing units, 4,315 of them occupied, with 81.9 percent of occupied homes held by owners, a median owner-occupied value of $502,500 and a median gross rent of $1,909 a month (ACS 2024 DP04 for Satellite Beach).

These are five-year survey estimates with margins of error, so small changes between Satellite Beach releases are not trends.

Satellite Beach is run by an elected City Council, led by a mayor and a vice mayor, with an appointed city manager in charge of daily operations from City Hall at 565 Cassia Boulevard.

The Satellite Beach City Council page says the council meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 565 Cassia Blvd. Meetings stream live on the city website and on the city government Facebook page, and one address, council@satellitebeach.gov, reaches the whole Satellite Beach council at once. The same page sends readers to the city's Meeting Calendar and Agendas page for current agendas and to its Meeting Videos page for archived Satellite Beach meetings.

Satellite Beach council elections are run by the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections. The Supervisor of Elections 2026 candidates page lists the City of Satellite Beach City Council race with 2 seats available on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot, after a municipal qualifying period from July 31, 2026 to August 14, 2026. The same office lists the Satellite Beach City Hall fax as (321) 779-1388 in its municipal directory, alongside a precinct map for the city.

The Satellite Beach city manager page says the current manager was appointed in July 2024 after serving the city as comptroller, support services director and assistant city manager since June 2017.

Satellite Beach became a city on August 3, 1957, when 56 of 57 eligible voters approved incorporation, one resident being downrange at the time.

The Satellite Beach city history traces the start to 1956, when three brothers and their cousin from North Carolina bought a 130-acre parcel of palmetto and scrub beside a graveled A1A and built seven houses within five months. Demand came from aerospace workers at Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral. A proposal for a 500-unit trailer park off A1A and Park Avenue pushed local builders and landowners to seek zoning and building codes through incorporation, and a naming contest paid $25.00 for the winning name, Satellite Beach.

Recreation shaped the young Satellite Beach. The same city page records a 1964 slogan contest won with "Where Progress Prevails" and says the city hosted 11 National Championship slow pitch softball tournaments in the 1970s and 1980s, earning the title "Softball Capital of the World". In 1998 Satellite Beach bought four oceanfront parcels totaling over 17.2 acres with help from the Florida Communities Trust grant program, which is why nearly 40 percent of the city's oceanfront is protected from development.

The city's own recreation pages center on its beach parks, its 17 beach crossovers and Samsons Island Nature Park, a spoil island in the Indian River Lagoon.

The Satellite Beach beach parks page says 40 percent of the city's beachfront is in public ownership. Hightower Beach Park has 31 parking spaces (2 ADA), over 18 acres, 2,800 feet of beachfront and a 560-foot wooden boardwalk; Pelican Beach Park has 131 spaces (6 ADA), an EV charging station, pavilions and 2 sand volleyball courts; Crotty Park covers 1.5 acres with 13 paved and about 45 unpaved spaces and no facilities, and Shell Street Beach has 18 spaces (2 ADA), covered picnic areas and restrooms. Paid parking runs every day from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, 365 days a year. Residents may apply for a free biennial all-lots pass and non-residents for a free annual pass valid at Pelican Beach and Hightower Park East, at least 72 hours before parking; the Satellite Beach parking office answers at 321-704-5351. Beach parking along A1A or residential streets is not allowed, and pets are not allowed on Satellite Beach beaches.

The city's own pages count crossovers differently. The beach parks page lists 17 beach crossovers including 3 beach parks, while the Satellite Beach history page counts 11 permanent public crossovers and three beachfront parks named Pelican, Hightower and Sunrise, and puts public recreation and sports land at over 147 acres.

Samsons Island is reached only by water, with public docks on its north, east and south sides. The Samsons Island Nature Park page says Satellite Beach runs free monthly eco tours with boat transportation, departing at 9:00 AM from the Satellite Beach Fire Department on the first Sunday of each month and returning by 12:00 PM; reservations open on the 1st of the month before the tour, through the Recreation Department at 321-773-6458.

Two changes stand out on official Satellite Beach pages in 2026: two City Council seats on the November 3 ballot and the Jackson Avenue streetscape between South Patrick Drive and A1A.

The Satellite Beach city projects page describes the Jackson Avenue Streetscape (2026) as new sidewalks, bioswales and landscaping, funded through FDOT and FDEP grants and city funds; its project update dated 4/20/2026 says tree removal and sidewalk demolition began at the western limits. Next on that Satellite Beach list is the Westside Basin Stormwater Improvements project, planned for 2027 west of South Patrick with treatment swales and tree wells, funded through FDEP and SOIRL grants.

Several Satellite Beach stormwater projects finished recently, all aimed at the water reaching the Indian River Lagoon. The same page lists the South Ditch Basin improvements (2025), which treat 58.27 acres in the south of the city, the City Hall Living Shoreline floating wetlands (2025), the Roosevelt Baffle Box (2025) and the Lori Laine Trunkline Improvements (2024).

Satellite Beach takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 120028 under flood maps effective 01/29/21, and the city says most of Satellite Beach lies in coastal flood zones, often AE or VE.

The FEMA NFIP Community Status Book record for Satellite Beach lists the city as participating, with its initial flood insurance rate map dated 1976-04-23, a Community Rating System class of 10 and a 0% discount outside the special flood hazard area.

The Satellite Beach flood information page points owners to FEMA's map tools, explains that NFIP premiums now follow Risk Rating 2.0, notes that many past elevation certificates are on file with the city, and warns that improvements or repairs equal to or above 50% of a structure's market value, excluding land, must bring the whole Satellite Beach building into full compliance.

After a declared state of emergency, the Satellite Beach post-disaster permitting plan says the city will open a post-storm permitting center at 1390 S Patrick Drive or an alternate site, keep at least 40 hours a week of permitting service, review essential repair permits in 1 to 3 business days and schedule inspections within 24 to 48 hours; permit and inspection fees cannot rise for 180 days after the declaration. Evacuation zones and shelters for Satellite Beach are covered in the Brevard County hurricane and flood guides.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, by re-reading the Satellite Beach council, beach parks, city projects and flood pages, the FEMA NFIP record and the Supervisor of Elections 2026 ballot list.