We have a lot of people relocating to the Space Coast to work at the Kennedy Space Center. Whether you are with SpaceX, Blue Origin, ULA, NASA, Relativity, or one of the many other companies working from KSC; this post will help you navigate the best options for living near the Kennedy Space Center.
We launch more rockets from the Kennedy Space Center than any other location in the United States. It’s where we launched from for the first man in space. It’s where we launched from to get to the moon. It is where all 135 Shuttle launches happened. We currently have SpaceX launching several times a month with the occasional rocket landing back at the Cape. NASA will be launching its SLS rocket to bring us back to the moon. Blue Origin is planning on their first launch of the New Glenn rocket in 2024. Relativity has launched the Teran 1 rocket which is the 1st 3D-printed rocket engine and components. The Space Race is in full throttle in Brevard County (aka the Space Coast)
Since the Kennedy Space Center is a government facility and protected similarly to a military base, a civilian like myself does not have regular or easy access beyond the front gate. For this reason, any drive time or distance I mention in this post will be to the main gate (since I have no idea where you will be working beyond that). KSC is located on the very north end of Merritt Island and is surrounded by the Merritt Island National Refuge, the Indian River, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Since most of the buyers I have helped who moved to our area to work with SpaceX, Blue Origin, or Relativity wanted to be within 30 minutes of work, I will use that as the baseline for the areas I outline below. Starting with Merritt Island.
Merritt Island is a pretty large area and I like to divide it up into 5 sections: North of 528, central, south Merritt Island, N Banana River Dr, and Newfound Harbor area. Even though you could be to the main gate in under 40 minutes from any of these areas, I recommend looking at central Merritt Island, the N Banana River Dr area, or north of SR 528 if you want to keep the drive in the 20 to 30-minute range.
North Merritt Island will be the shortest drive to the main gate of KSC. It is also the best area to find new or newer construction on Merritt Island. Most of the homes were built mid 1990s to brand new construction. Most of the homes are on a .25-acre lot or larger. There are acre-plus options in north Merritt Island too. If you have horses, there are equestrian-friendly communities. If you love golf and would like to live on a golf course, then there are options in north Merritt Island for you too. What are your thoughts on an HOA? If you are open to them, then this is a good area because there are quite a few HOA communities in north Merritt Island. Even though there are sales under $400,000 in north Merritt Island, it’s rare. Home sales in the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) range $259K to $1,047,500 with the median price at 594,000.
Central Merritt Island is between SR 520 and SR 528. Most of the home sales in Merritt Island are in this area. Homes in this area were built between the early 1900’s to early 2000’s. Most of the homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s. There are a handful of homes on larger lots (1+ acres) most of the homes are on .25-acre lots or smaller. If you want a waterfront home, this is a great area to look at. There are homes on navigable canals or on Sykes Creek (east side of Courtney Parkway/SR3). There are a handful of homes that are on the Indian River too. There are a couple HOA’s in Central Merritt Island but most of the homes are not in an HOA. Home sales for the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) range from $115K to over $2M with the median price at $395K. The few homes that sold under $200K did need renovations/updates.
N Banana River Drive area is also between SR 520 and SR 528. Homes built in this area are between the 1950 and early 2000’s with most of the homes built in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of the homes are not in an HOA. There are homes on navigable canals, on Sykes Creek, or on the Banana River. Home sales for the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) range from $165K to $1.5M with the median price at $460K. The $165K home did need renovations/updates.
Depending on where you are in Merritt Island, here are the schools:
Elementary: Carroll, Mila, or Audobon
Middle School: Jefferson
High School: Merritt Island or Edgewood JR/SR
Since school districts are always changing along with the school ratings, I recommend you do your research to confirm the schools to your address and what the current ratings are on sites like these:
SchoolDigger.com | SchoolSparrow.com GreatSchools.org
Titusville is also known as the gateway to space since the city has amazing views of what is happening at the Space Center by looking across the Indian River. Besides accessing the main gate at Kennedy Space Center through North Merritt Island, you can also access the main gate by crossing the NASA Causeway from Titusville. You should be able to access the main gate under 40 minutes from anywhere in Titusville. Since Titusville is also pretty big, I like to divide it up into several sections: Between Kings Highway and Highway 50, Highway 50 to Garden Street, Garden Street to SR46, and west of 95. If you want to ensure a 20 to 30-minute commute, try staying south of Garden Street, which should be easy since most of the home sales are south of Garden Street. North of Garden St & west of 95 is where you will be pushing the 30+ minute drive time.
Since Titusville is the 2nd oldest city in Brevard County, the age of the homes could be anywhere from 100 years old to new construction. There are a lot of homes from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Only a handful of homes are on the Indian River or on navigable canals. The “waterfront” homes are on either a lake or pond in the Titusville area. If you would like a home on the golf course, you have options! If you want acreage, you have options. Really, you can find a home on just about any sized lot you would like. There are some HOA’s but most of the homes are not in an HOA. Home sales in the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) range 92K to $1.357M. There were quite a few homes that sold for under $250K. The median price is $335K.
Depending on where you live in Titusville, here are the schools:
Elementary Schools: Apollo, Coquina, Imperial Estates, Oak Park and South Lake
Middle Schools: Jackson and Madison
High Schools: Titusville and Astronaut
Since school districts are always changing along with the school ratings, I recommend you do your research to confirm the schools to your address and what the current ratings are on sites like these:
SchoolDigger.com | SchoolSparrow.com GreatSchools.org
Cocoa Florida I will have to divide into a few different sections. Port St John, Canaveral Groves, and the city of Cocoa.
Port St John is unincorporated Cocoa and is like a large, sprawling suburb. Lots of houses in this area stretch from the Indian River to the west side of I95. I would describe Port St John as mostly residential that’s a little rural, maybe even country. Not that there are homes on large lots, most of the lots are near 0.25 acres. It’s because of the lifestyle I see driving through Port St John. It is not uncommon to see quad runners along the roads or in empty lots. It’s not uncommon to see airboats or bass boats in a driveway or alongside the home. I also see a lot of RV’s in the driveways too. I see nothing wrong with any of the above, I am only pointing out that it appears to me there’s more of this in Port St John than in other sections of Brevard County.
Port St John has some older homes that were built 1970s and earlier. Most of these are on the east side between US1 and the railroad tracks. In the 1980s there was a lot of construction that slowed down in the early 2000s when the real estate market crashed. Today, there is new construction happening on scattered lots throughout the Port St John area. Most of the homes are not in an HOA. There are a handful of homes that are on the Indian River. Most of the homes are dry lots, back to a preserve, or are on a lake/pond. Most of the lots are around .25 acres. Home sale prices in the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) ranged from $130K to $865K. The median sales price was $305K. New construction homes have been selling in the high $300’s to low $400’s. You can get from West Port St John to the main gate in under 25 minutes.
If schools are important to you, here are the schools for the Port St John area.
Elementary: Atlantis, Challenger7, and Enterprise
Middle School & High School: Space Coast
Since school districts are always changing along with the school ratings, I recommend you do your research to confirm the schools to your address and what the current ratings are on sites like these:
SchoolDigger.com | SchoolSparrow.com GreatSchools.org
Canaveral Groves is definitely a rural area that I consider country living. Home sites are almost all on an acre or larger lot. It’s not farmland, but it’s not uncommon to see horses, goats, & chickens. Even though most of the roads are paved, there are some sections of gravel roads. If you want space, this is the area. Most of the homes in Canaveral Groves were built between the late 1970’s to brand new construction. There are some older homes from the 50s and 60s. Home sale prices for the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) range from $228K to $769K with the median sales price being $458K. You can get to the main gate in 25 to 30 minutes.
If schools are important to you, here are the schools currently zoned for the Canaveral Groves area.
Elementary school: Fairglen Elementary
Middle School and High School: Cocoa Jr/Sr High School
Since school districts are always changing along with the school ratings, I recommend you do your research to confirm the schools to your address and what the current ratings are on sites like these:
SchoolDigger.com | SchoolSparrow.com GreatSchools.org
Cocoa Florida is located on the mainland between SR528 and just south of SR520. Technically, some of the north section mentioned is just out of the city limits (but close enough for this information) If you are not from the area, sometimes Cocoa & Cocoa Beach gets confused. They are 2 different areas separated by 2 rivers and Merritt Island.
I will look at Cocoa in a few sections. East of US1, the Clearlake corridor, West of 95, and the triangle between SR524 and SR528. You have some very old, turn-of-the-century homes in the Cocoa Village area near SR520 and east of US 1 along Indian River Drive. There are a lot of homes that were built in the 50s, 60s, and 70s throughout the Cocoa area. There is new construction happening on the north side of Cocoa. You can find homes on the Indian River, on dry lots, on a lake/pond, on the St John’s River (aka Lake Poinsett), and there are some homes pretty close to the railroad tracks. Lot sizes vary from small 40’ lots to multi-acres. For this reason, you can also find a large range of prices too. Home sales in the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) ranged from $72K to $1.450M (there was a $35K sale which was a tear-down). The median sales price was $283,500. Living in the city of Cocoa will have a drive time to the main gate of 25 to 30 minutes.
If schools are important to you, here are the schools currently zoned for the Cocoa area.
Elementary school: Fairglen, Saturn, Cambridge, or Endeavor Elementary
Middle School and High School: Cocoa Jr/Sr High School
If you live south of 520, Rockledge High and McNair Middle School would be your options.
Since school districts are always changing along with the school ratings, I recommend you do your research to confirm the schools to your address and what the current ratings are on sites like these:
SchoolDigger.com | SchoolSparrow.com GreatSchools.org
If you want to live near the beach, Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach also fall in the 25 to 30-minute drive time. The single-family homes can be direct ocean, direct river, on a canal, or on a dry lot. Most of the homes were built in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. There are newer options and there’s also new construction happening in South Cocoa Beach (this will push the commute to the 35ish minute range). Home sales in the last 12 months (8/2022 to 7/2023) ranged from $362K to $3.250M with a median price of $760K. Something to keep in mind, There are a lot more condo options in Cape Canaveral & Cocoa Beach than single-family homes. If you would like more info on the condos, let me know.
If schools are important to you, here are the schools currently zoned for the Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach areas.
Elementary schools: Cape View or Roosevelt
Middle School/High School: Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School
Since school districts are always changing along with the school ratings, I recommend you do your research to confirm the schools to your address and what the current ratings are on sites like these:
SchoolDigger.com | SchoolSparrow.com GreatSchools.org
Once you start getting south of SR 520 on the mainland or south of Patrick Space Force Base, your drive time starts pushing 40 minutes or longer, I did not include Rockledge, Viera, Melbourne, or Satellite Beach in this post. I do have blogs and videos introducing you to these areas. We can also schedule a call to discuss your upcoming move. Simply fill out the form below.
Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with Real Broker, LLC. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. If you have questions about moving or relocating to Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast, let me know! I get calls, texts, direct messages & comments on my posts every day about the real estate market and things that are happening in Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast that I love answering. Ask me your questions on moving, relocating here, or anything about the community. I am here to help. I have been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. My focus is always on helping, answering your questions, and doing everything possible to make certain you have a smooth transaction from beginning to end.
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