Melbourne Beach is a town in

Brevard County, Florida Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county s ...

, United States. It is part of the Palm Bay–

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

–

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 48,789, up from 43,761 at the 2010 census. Titusville is located along the ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population had 3,231 residents at the 2020

United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

, up from 3,101 at the 2010 census.

History

The Ais Indians resided in the area in pre-Columbian times. In 2010, a

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

near Aquarina included a burial ground for a chief and two handmaidens.Florida Today
/ref> It has been suggested that

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León ( – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in ...

landed near Melbourne Beach in 1513, where he then became the first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an to set foot in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. A determination of this was made by a historian in the 1990s, who believed that the spot was "within five to eight nautical miles" on the barrier island with a proposed name of Ponce de León Island.Datzman, Ken. "Did the famous explorer Ponce de Leon first hit Melbourne Beach", ''

Brevard Business News ''Brevard Business News'' is a weekly newspaper in Melbourne, Florida, United States covering business news and trends for the Space Coast region of Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U. ...

'', vol 30, no. 1 (Melbourne, Florida: January 2, 2012), p. 1 and 19. However, this suggestion has not been met with wide acceptance from historians who state that de Leon's landing place cannot be known within a leeway of less than a hundred miles or so. A statue of Ponce de León was erected at "Juan Ponce de León Landing" in Melbourne Beach to commemorate his discovery. Melbourne Beach is Brevard County's oldest beach community. In 1879, a hotel, the Oak Lodge, was built for researchers and naturalists on a location near Aquarina. In 1921, the Melbourne Causeway was built, connecting Melbourne Beach to the mainland via the town of Indialantic. In 1923, it was incorporated as a town. In 1928, Harry J. Brooks, attempting to set a long distance record, crashed a Ford Flivver off the coast of Melbourne Beach, resulting in his death. The town's population oscillated until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when it began growing steadily. Currently, it is largely residential, with an elementary school, some businesses, and many condominiums in the unincorporated areas to the north and south. In 2007, it was voted one of ten best bargain retirement spots in America. In 2016, a

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Publix, is an employee ownership, employee-owned American supermarket Chain store, chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a Privately h ...

located four miles south of Melbourne Beach sold one of the winning tickets in the $1.3 billion

Powerball Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which also manages other large jackpot games such as t ...

Geography

Melbourne Beach is located at . It is situated on the

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

that separates the

Indian River Lagoon The Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida; one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and is home to more than 4, ...

from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. This island, approximately in length, stretches from

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

to the north to the Sebastian Inlet to the south. Melbourne Beach is bordered by the town of Indialantic to the north. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km). 1.0 square miles (2.7 km) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km) of it (19.53%) is water.

Climate

The Town of Melbourne Beach is part of the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

zone with a

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

of "Cfa" (C = mild temperate, f = fully humid, and a = hot summer).

Fauna

Shorebirds include black-bellied plovers,

red knot The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the ''Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the ...

s (winter),

gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic n ...

s, seabirds (offshore), and red-throated loons (winter).

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,231 people, 1,374 households, and 874 families residing in the town. , the top 10 largest self-reported ancestry groups in Melbourne Beach, Florida are English (18.5%),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(15.2%),

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(11.4%), Irish (10.4%), "American" (8.1%),

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(5.7%), Scots-Irish (4.3%), French (except Basque) (4.1%),

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

(2.9%), and Swedish (2.4%). As of the 2010 United States census, there were 3,101 people, 1,271 households, and 867 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,335 people, 1,422 households, and 992 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,556 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.51%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.09%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.28% of the population. In 2000, there were 1,422 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.77. In 2000, in the town, the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the town is $57,035, and the median income for a family is $62,139. Males have a median income of $46,424 versus $34,028 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town is $31,489. 3.8% of the population and 1.6% of families are below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.0% are under the age of 18 and 2.2% are 65 or older.

Government

In 2007, the town had a taxable real estate base of $371.45 million.

Economy

Personal income

In 2010, the median income for a household in the town was $87,035, and the median income for a family was $62,139. Males had a median income of $46,424 versus $34,028 for females. The

for the town was $31,489. About 1.6% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the

, including none of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over. Median home value was $321,498.00 in 2010. Melbourne Beach is second in Brevard County for per capita income and 124 out of 887 places.

Industry

Tourism

Coconut Point Park is a community beachside park and sea turtle nesting site. The park is listed in the state of Florida Great Florida Birding Trail.

Points of interest

* Melbourne Beach Pier * Old Melbourne Beach Town Hall * Ryckman Park

Notable people

* Bobby Dall">WP:NLIST & WP:LISTPEOPLE--> * Bobby Dall, musician, bass player for rock band Poison (American band)">Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...