Indian River County, Florida

Indian River County is a county in Florida, United States, on the Treasure Coast about 65 miles
north of West Palm Beach. It had a population of 159,788 at the 2020 census, an estimated 172,799
by 2025, and covers 502.6 square miles (1,301.7 km2) of land centred near 27°42′N 80°35′W.

Vero Beach is the county seat; its postal code is 32960. The county holds 3 incorporated cities,
2 incorporated towns and 11 census-designated places, plus a handful of smaller unincorporated
communities with no formal boundary. Indian River County runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is
12061.

Towns & Villages in Indian River County

Indian River County has 23 named places on record: 5 incorporated cities and towns, 11
census-designated places (CDPs), and 7 unincorporated communities with no CDP status of their
own. Florida has no civil townships, so there is no township column here — every entry sits
directly in the county.

The county’s previous settlement list was dominated by roughly thirty mobile home parks
(Coachland Court, Dun Runnin, El Capitan, Sunset MH Park and similar) — private communities,
not Census-recognized places, so they are dropped here. That list also carried Yeehaw as an
Indian River County place; Yeehaw Junction, the real settlement of that name, sits about 30 miles
inland in Osceola County and has never been part of Indian River County.

ZIP Codes

• 32960 — Vero Beach (downtown and the barrier-island core)
• 32962 — Vero Beach South and part of Florida Ridge
• 32963 — Indian River Shores, Orchid and Wabasso Beach, on the barrier island
• 32966 — West Vero Corridor
• 32967 — Gifford and Vero Lake Estates
• 32968 — Florida Ridge
• 32970 — Wabasso
• 32971 — Winter Beach
• 32957 — Roseland
• 32958 — Sebastian
• 32948 — Fellsmere

Windsor, South Beach and the unincorporated communities of Riomar, Oslo, Royal Poinciana Park,
Blue Cypress Village, Citrus Ridge and Cummings have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is
delivered under the nearest incorporated town or CDP’s code.

Geography

Indian River County covers 617 square miles in total, of which 502.6 are land and about 114 are
water — roughly 18.5 percent, unusually high for a Florida county and driven by the Indian
River Lagoon, which runs the county’s full length along its eastern side and separates the
mainland from a narrow barrier island. That island, reached by causeways at Vero Beach and
Wabasso, carries Indian River Shores, Orchid, Windsor and Wabasso Beach. The St. Sebastian River
enters the lagoon near Roseland in the county’s north.

Brevard County lies to the north, Osceola County to the northwest, Okeechobee County to the
southwest, and St. Lucie County to the south. Brevard County, Osceola County, Okeechobee County and St. Lucie County all border Indian
River County directly.

Demographics

Indian River County had a population of 159,788 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate
puts the county near 172,799 residents by 2025. Sebastian is the largest incorporated city, at
25,054 residents, but Vero Beach South, an unincorporated CDP south of the city of Vero Beach, is
the county’s single largest community at 28,020. Median household income runs $79,849 (2024
ACS 1-year), above Florida’s statewide figure of $73,311 (2023 ACS). Population density works
out to roughly 342.5 people per square mile of land, reflecting a coastal county with a large
retiree population — Indian River Shores alone has a median age of 72.6.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
9,692 workers, followed by retail trade at 7,938 and professional, scientific and technical
services at 5,877. Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, in Vero Beach, is the county’s
largest single employer. Piper Aircraft, headquartered at Vero Beach Regional Airport since 1957,
builds general-aviation aircraft and remains a major private employer. Historic Dodgertown, the
Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers’ former spring-training complex, now operates as the Jackie
Robinson Training Complex. Fellsmere’s biggest annual event is the Frog Leg Festival each
January, a fundraiser that draws crowds well beyond the city’s own population of under 5,000.

History

The Florida Legislature created Indian River County in 1925, carving it from the northern part
of St. Lucie County and naming it for the Indian River Lagoon along its coast. Vero, chartered in
1919, was renamed Vero Beach and made the new county’s seat.

Fellsmere holds an earlier distinction: on 19 June 1915, resident Zena M. Dreier cast a ballot
there, five years before the 19th Amendment, after the city became the first municipality in
Florida — and one of the first in the American South — to grant women the right to
vote in local elections.

Getting There

Interstate 95 crosses the county with two interchanges. State Road A1A runs the length of the
barrier island, US Route 1 parallels the lagoon on the mainland side, and State Road 60 runs west
from Vero Beach toward Okeechobee.

• Melbourne — about 30 miles north
• Fort Pierce — about 15 miles south
• West Palm Beach — about 65 miles south
• Orlando — about 110 miles northwest

Vero Beach Regional Airport resumed scheduled commercial service in 2023 and is now served by
Breeze Airways, JetBlue and American Eagle to several Northeast and Charlotte destinations.
Melbourne Orlando International Airport, about 40 miles north, is the nearest larger commercial
airport. No Amtrak station serves the county.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Indian River County located?
It sits on Florida’s Treasure Coast, about 65 miles north of West Palm Beach, bordered by
Brevard, Osceola, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties.

What is the population of Indian River County?
159,788 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 172,799.

How big is Indian River County?
617 square miles in total, of which 502.6 square miles are land and about 114 are water.

What is the county seat of Indian River County?
Vero Beach, chartered in 1919 and renamed the county seat in 1925.

How many towns and cities are in Indian River County?
Five incorporated places — Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere, Indian River Shores and Orchid
— plus 11 census-designated places and several smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Indian River County use?
32960 and 32962 for Vero Beach and Vero Beach South; 32963 for the barrier island; 32958 for
Sebastian; 32948 for Fellsmere; and 32957, 32966, 32967, 32968, 32970 and 32971 for the smaller
communities.

What is Indian River County known for?
Piper Aircraft, headquartered at Vero Beach Regional Airport, and Fellsmere, the first Florida
municipality to let women vote, in 1915.

More counties in this state: Towns and
villages in Florida.