Cost of Living — Sebastian, Florida

Published figures for Sebastian describe a city of mostly owner-occupied homes. The U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates for Sebastian give a median household income of $68,863, a median home value of $281,700 and a median gross rent of $1,414 a month, with 83.5 percent of occupied homes owner-occupied and a poverty rate of 9.4 percent. The ACS also puts the city's median age at 57.6 and its labor force participation rate at 51.4 percent.

Because Sebastian has no city-level price index, the dated benchmarks in this page come from the federal and university sources that publish figures for Indian River County or for the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor metropolitan area, which covers the whole county. Each figure below carries the date of the source that published it. The page reports costs only and does not compare Sebastian with other places beyond what those sources state.

The clearest rent benchmark is the federal fair market rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development states that Indian River County is part of the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL MSA, and sets FY 2026 fair market rents for that area at $1,214 for an efficiency, $1,222 for one bedroom, $1,604 for two bedrooms, $1,956 for three bedrooms and $2,691 for four bedrooms. The FY 2025 figures were $1,239, $1,246, $1,567, $1,948 and $2,601, so the two-bedroom benchmark rose $37 a month between the two years while the efficiency and one-bedroom figures fell. HUD notes that the FY 2026 base rents start from 2019 to 2023 ACS gross rent estimates.

Purchase prices are reported countywide. In March 2024 Vero News reported that the countywide median sale price of a home in February 2024 was $385,000, up 13 percent from February 2023, according to Redfin, while another online source showed $375,000. Both figures cover all of Indian River County, including the barrier island, and sit above the ACS 2023 median home value of $281,700 for Sebastian, which is an owner-estimated value rather than a sale price.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator, last updated February 15, 2026, estimates the hourly wage that a full-time worker in Indian River County must earn to cover basic needs. For one adult with no children the living wage is $22.23 an hour; for one adult with one child it is $37.37. In a household with two working adults and two children, each adult needs $25.43 an hour. The same table lists the Florida minimum wage at $14.00 as of January 2026.

The calculator also lists the annual costs behind those wages for Indian River County. For a single adult with no children, MIT estimates housing at $14,643 a year, food at $4,697, transportation at $8,881, medical costs at $3,155 and internet and mobile service at $1,581, for a required annual income of $46,229 before taxes. For two working adults with two children, required income before taxes is $105,800. For comparison, the ACS 2023 median household income in Sebastian is $68,863.

Wages moved after the MIT update. Sebastian Daily reported that Florida's minimum wage rose $1 to $15 an hour on September 30, 2026, covering restaurants, hotels, retailers and grocery stores in Indian River County, and that a worker paid $14 an hour gains about $2,080 a year on a 40-hour schedule.

A Sebastian property tax bill combines several levies. The school portion is set by the School District of Indian River County, which, Sebastian Daily reported, adopted an aggregate rate of 5.6740 mills for 2026-27, down from 5.7530 mills; on $300,000 of taxable value that is $1,702.20 in school taxes, compared with $1,725.90 the year before. The same report notes that homesteaded taxable value can rise only 3 percent a year or by the consumer price index, whichever is less, while non-homestead property can rise as much as 10 percent. Vero News describes the standard homestead reduction as a $50,000 break for a home lived in full time.

Sebastian bills also carry flat assessments. The Indian River County Tax Collector lists the Sebastian Stormwater Services Assessment and the Sebastian Waste Collection Assessment among the non-ad valorem charges that appear on the combined real estate tax bill, which are based on factors other than property value.

Changes are on the ballot. Sebastian Daily reported that Amendment 3 on Florida's November 3, 2026 ballot would raise the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and cut the cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10 percent to 5 percent; county administrators estimated it could reduce Indian River County collections by about $22 million in fiscal 2027-28. In February 2026 the City of Sebastian outlined a potential $4.7 million budget gap, about 24 percent of its general fund, under deep state property tax cuts, and Sebastian Daily reported that the city discussed user fees for youth sports fields and a boat trailer parking fee, since grant-funded city boat ramps cannot charge a launch fee.

Sewer conversion is a pending cost for many Sebastian homeowners. Sebastian Daily reported in September 2026 that homes on conventional septic systems in the Central Indian River Lagoon basin, which includes Sebastian, have until July 1, 2030 to connect to central sewer or install a nitrogen-reducing system, affecting about 28,000 properties countywide. Sebastian does not run its own sewer utility and depends on Indian River County, whose program materials list grant aid of up to $15,000 per eligible property; owners can still face thousands of dollars for the line to the street and for abandoning the old tank.

Child care is another documented pressure. A 2026 Florida Chamber Foundation analysis reported by Sebastian Daily found that 58 percent of surveyed Indian River County parents said child care costs strained the rest of the household budget, 78 percent received no financial help, and infant rooms at responding centers were at 96 percent of reported capacity. The report's figures reflect survey respondents rather than every family in the county.