Cost of Living in Sebastian, Florida

A typical Sebastian household earns about $69,409 a year and a typical renter pays about $1,451 a month, according to the newest Census five-year estimates for the city.

The median household income in Sebastian was $69,409 in the ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimates (U.S. Census Bureau, table B19013). Median gross rent, which counts rent plus utilities the tenant pays, was $1,451 (U.S. Census Bureau, table B25064), and the median value of an owner-occupied Sebastian home was $317,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, table B25077). Those are five-year averages, so they lag the market: a home bought in Sebastian in 2026 is priced off current sales, not off a survey that started in 2020.

No agency publishes a price index for Sebastian alone. The useful benchmarks are set for the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor metro area, which is all of Indian River County, and for the county tax bill. The table pulls the main ones together with the date each was published.

HUD's FY 2026 fair market rent for the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor area is $1,604 for a two-bedroom unit and $1,222 for a one-bedroom, figures that apply across Indian River County.

Fair market rent is the federal benchmark used for housing vouchers, and 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, the only county in that area. The FY 2026 figures run from $1,214 for an efficiency to $2,691 for four bedrooms. HUD built the two-bedroom figure from a 2019-2023 ACS base rent of $1,199 for the metro area, then applied a recent-mover factor and inflation trending to reach $1,604.

For four bedrooms the FY 2025 figure was $2,601 and the FY 2026 figure is $2,691, an increase of $90 a month,, the largest dollar move of any unit size. Efficiencies and one-bedroom units moved slightly down in the federal benchmark.

The Census median and the HUD benchmark measure different things. The Sebastian median gross rent covers every occupied rental in the city, of any size, and includes utilities paid by the tenant; the HUD figure is a modest-unit benchmark for the whole county, including Vero Beach and the barrier island. A renter comparing a Sebastian listing against either number is comparing against a survey average, not a current asking rent.

MIT's Living Wage Calculator puts the Indian River County living wage at $22.23 an hour for one adult with no children, or $46,229 a year before taxes, as of its February 15, 2026 update.

The MIT Living Wage Calculator for Indian River County estimates what a full-time worker must earn to cover basic needs. For one adult with one child the figure is $37.37 an hour. In a household with two working adults and two children, each adult needs $25.43 an hour, and the household needs $105,800 a year before taxes. The poverty wage for one adult with no children is $7.67 an hour on the same table.

The single-adult budget behind the Indian River County figure lists housing at $14,643 a year, transportation at $8,881, food at $4,697 and medical costs at $3,155. Transportation is the second-biggest line in that budget, ahead of food and medical care.

One line on the MIT table for Indian River County is already stale. It lists the Florida minimum wage at $14.00 as of January 2026, but Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution set the state minimum at $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026, the last of the $1 yearly steps; from September 30, 2027 the rate is adjusted each year for inflation using the CPI-W.

Jobs have also softened. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate for the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor metro area at 5.2 percent in March 2026 and 5.6 percent in the preliminary August 2026 figure.

A parcel inside Sebastian city limits paid 16.4994 mills for tax year 2025, about $1,650 for every $100,000 of taxable value, plus flat city assessments for stormwater and garbage.

The Florida Department of Revenue 2025 Indian River tax area table lists tax area 2, the City of Sebastian, at a total of 16.4994 mills. The City of Sebastian levy is 3.4455 mills; the rest goes to the Indian River County general fund, the emergency services district, the county land acquisition bond, the state and local school levies, the hospital district, mosquito control, the Florida Inland Navigation District, the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Sebastian Inlet District. On a home taxed on $250,000 after exemptions, 16.4994 mills comes to $4,124.85 a year. The two school levies, 2.7480 mills local and 3.0050 mills state, make up 5.7530 mills of the total, the largest single share.

Two flat charges ride on the same bill. The Indian River County Tax Collector lists the Sebastian Stormwater Services Assessment and the Sebastian Waste Collection Assessment, both answered by the city at (772) 581-0111, and notes that non-ad valorem assessments are not affected by any tax exemptions. City Resolution R-24-41, heard on August 28, 2024, raised the stormwater utility fee per equivalent residential unit from $10.00 to $14.00 a month to stabilize the stormwater fund, keep maintenance programs running and prepare for capital work, and the fee is collected on the annual tax bill; the City Council approved it (Sebastian Daily). At $14 a month, one equivalent residential unit pays $168 a year.

Homestead status changes the math. The Indian River County Property Appraiser explains that once a homestead is in place, the yearly increase in assessed value cannot exceed 3 percent or the percentage change in the Florida Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. A buyer who moves to Sebastian full time can file online or at the Property Appraiser Sebastian office at 1921 US Highway 1, phone (772) 226-1133, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the Indian River County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector websites and the Florida Department of Revenue tax area table. The table is for tax year 2025, so a rate adopted for a later year is not in it.

The largest scheduled changes for Sebastian households are the 2030 septic-to-sewer deadline in the lagoon basin and the switch of the Florida minimum wage to yearly inflation increases from 2027.

Sewer is the large one-time cost. Under section 373.469, Florida Statutes, by July 1, 2030 any residential property of 10 acres or less with an existing septic system inside the Central Indian River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan area must connect to central sewer if available, or upgrade to a system that removes at least 65 percent of nitrogen. Anyone who applies before that date to repair, modify or replace a conventional system must be told of the requirement by the permitting agency. Sebastian is inside that basin, and about 28,000 properties in Indian River County fall under the rule (Sebastian Daily). The Florida Department of Environmental Protection lists the 2025 Central Indian River Lagoon plan with a final order effective June 27, 2025.

Wages follow a new formula. The Florida Constitution ends the fixed $1 steps at $15.00 and, on September 30, 2027 and each September 30 after, raises the minimum wage by the inflation rate of the prior twelve months. At $15 an hour a full-time worker earns $31,200 a year before taxes, still below the $46,229 the MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates one adult needs in Indian River County.

The homestead cap keeps working in the background. The Indian River County Property Appraiser notes that the assessed value of a homestead cannot exceed its market value, and that additions or significant improvements are not covered by the 3 percent limit, so a large renovation can raise a Sebastian tax bill even in a flat market.