Delray Beach home budget calculator

Delray Beach is a coastal city in southern Palm Beach County, between Boynton Beach to the north and Boca Raton and Highland Beach to the south, about 52 miles north of Miami. It calls itself the "Village by the Sea": a lively downtown along Atlantic Avenue runs straight to the ocean, and most of daily life — restaurants, galleries, the library, the beach — fits into a walkable mile or two.

The city grew out of two towns. The Town of Delray, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, was incorporated in 1911 and the Town of Delray Beach, on the barrier island, in 1923; they merged into the City of Delray Beach in 1927. The first settlers included African American families from the Florida Panhandle who arrived in 1894, the same year Michigan congressman William S. Linton came south and platted the Town of Linton; it was later renamed after the Delray district of Detroit. Early in the 1900s Japanese farmers of the Yamato Colony settled just to the south, and one of them, George Morikami, later gave the land that became today's Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens.

Delray Beach has collected unusual recognition for a city of its size: "Most Fun Small Town in America" (Rand McNally and USA Today, 2012), three All-America City awards (1993, 2001 and 2017), USA TODAY 10Best's "Best Beach in Florida" three years running, and a Blue Flag for its municipal beach every year from 2023 to 2026.

About 67,000 people lived in the city at the 2020 Census. As in Boca Raton, many homes with a "Delray Beach" address — especially west of the city — are in unincorporated Palm Beach County, so it pays to check city limits for any address.

The municipal beach runs along A1A on both sides of Atlantic Avenue. Lifeguard EMTs are on duty every day (hours change with the season); entrances have showers and bottle-filling fountains, and beach wheelchairs and surf chairs are free to borrow.

• Beach rules. No dogs on the beach or in city parks (leashed dogs may walk on the A1A sidewalk), no glass, alcohol, grills or fires, and no fishing inside guarded areas.
• Atlantic Dunes Park, 1605 S. Ocean Boulevard, a block north of Linton Boulevard: a quieter guarded beach with a boardwalk, a 300-foot dune trail, a pavilion and metered parking.
• Parking. Beach and downtown parking is paid; the city also sells an annual beach parking permit valid at several beach lots. Rates changed in October 2025 and are still being adjusted, so check the city's parking pages for current prices.
• Dogs. Palm Beach County runs a dog park at Lake Ida Park.
• Boating. The City Marina is at 159 Marine Way, just south of the Atlantic Avenue bridge.

Public schools are run by the School District of Palm Beach County, and schools are assigned by address — check any home in the district's Find My School tool.

• Atlantic Community High School — 2455 W. Atlantic Avenue, about 2,000 students. It has offered the International Baccalaureate programme since 1989, along with career academies and Army JROTC.
• American Heritage Schools, Palm Beach campus — a private pre-K to grade 12 school at 6200 Linton Boulevard.
• Higher education nearby — Florida Atlantic University's main campus and Palm Beach State College's Boca Raton campus are about 15–20 minutes south.

• I-95 exits at Linton Boulevard (51) and Atlantic Avenue (52), with Congress Avenue (50) just south. Florida's Turnpike has an exit at Atlantic Avenue (81).
• Tri-Rail stops at the Delray Beach station, 345 S. Congress Avenue, with free parking and Palm Tran bus connections. Amtrak's Silver Meteor also stops here.
• Brightline: the nearest stations are downtown Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.
• Airports: Palm Beach International (PBI) is about 19 miles away (roughly 25 minutes), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) about 31 miles, Miami (MIA) about 54 miles.
• Freebee gives free on-demand rides in electric cars east of I-95 to A1A, between Gulfstream Boulevard and SW 10th Street. Book in the app, by phone or simply wave one down. It replaced the old downtown trolley in 2019.
• Palm Tran buses run across Palm Beach County.
• Downtown parking: garages, lots and street spaces are paid, with different rates for each; residents can buy an annual downtown permit.

• City or county? Roughly 124,000 people live in ZIP codes that carry the Delray Beach name, but only about 67,000 live in the city. Kings Point and much of the area west of the city are unincorporated; Delray Dunes, despite the name, has a Boynton Beach address. Check the exact address with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.
• Historic districts. Downtown, Del-Ida Park, the Marina, Nassau Park and West Settlers are designated historic districts, and exterior changes there go through the city's historic-preservation review. Ask before planning a renovation.
• Homestead exemption. If the home is your permanent residence on January 1, apply by March 1 for Florida's homestead exemption (up to $50,000 off taxable value). Save Our Homes then caps yearly assessment increases at 3% or inflation, and the benefit is partly portable to your next Florida home.
• Flood and evacuation. Look up the FEMA flood zone and the county evacuation zone for any address; the barrier island and the Intracoastal shore are the most exposed.
• HOAs and condos. The seller must give you the HOA disclosure summary before you sign. Condo buildings of three or more storeys need milestone structural inspections and a structural integrity reserve study — ask for both and for any planned special assessments.
• Budget. The table at the top of this page shows what a monthly budget buys in Delray Beach with tax, insurance and HOA dues included, and how it compares with the other cities we cover.

• Delray Beach Open — an ATP tennis tournament held in the city every February since 1999 at the Stadium & Tennis Center. The 2027 edition is scheduled for February 12–21.
• Delray Beach Garlic Fest — food and music festival in late February or early March, back at Old School Square since 2026.
• St. Patrick's Day Parade — more than half a century old, marching down Atlantic Avenue from the Intracoastal in March.
• Savor the Avenue — on the fourth Monday of March, Atlantic Avenue becomes one long dinner table for nearly a thousand guests.
• Delray Affair — the Chamber of Commerce's arts and crafts festival across seven downtown blocks with more than 500 vendors every April (April 9–11, 2027).
• 100-foot Christmas tree — lit every December at Old School Square since 1993; you can walk inside it.