City tax rates for 2025-26 were 4.975 mills in Port St. Lucie, 6.9 in Fort Pierce and 4.9 in Stuart. Home values, schools and services side by side.

Last checked Oct. 10, 2026. Sources: each city’s adopted fiscal year 2025-26 tax rate (Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Stuart), the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey (QuickFacts for Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce and Stuart), the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades and the Zillow Home Value Index (Zillow Research).

Fort Pierce, about 10 miles north, and Stuart, about 11 miles south, are the two cities closest to Port St. Lucie. Jensen Beach and Palm City, which are closer still, are unincorporated communities with no city government, so they are not compared here. Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce are both in St. Lucie County; Stuart is the county seat of Martin County, which means a different county tax rate, property appraiser and school district.

What this means for you

  • City tax rate, 2025-26: Port St. Lucie 4.9750 mills, Fort Pierce 6.9000, Stuart 4.9000.
  • Typical home value, August 2026: Port St. Lucie $384,593, Stuart $374,124, Fort Pierce $277,504, according to Zillow.
  • Schools: Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce are both served by St. Lucie Public Schools; Stuart by the Martin County School District.

People and homes

From the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the same survey for all three cities:

Port St. Lucie Fort Pierce Stuart
Population 232,491 49,082 18,520
Median household income $80,648 $47,072 $60,225
Median value of owner-occupied homes $369,200 $250,800 $329,400
Mean travel time to work 30.5 minutes 27.4 minutes 24.6 minutes

The Census median home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, averaged over five years, so it differs from Zillow’s figure below.

Home values

City Typical home value, Aug. 2026 Change from Aug. 2025
Port St. Lucie $384,593 -1.3%
Stuart $374,124 -1.0%
Fort Pierce $277,504 -1.7%

The Zillow Home Value Index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, single-family houses and condos together, not a sale price. Values inside Port St. Lucie range by ZIP code from $320,726 to $447,511; see our neighborhoods guide and home prices guide.

Chart: typical home values

Bar chart of August 2026 Zillow typical home values: Port St. Lucie $384,593, Stuart $374,124, Fort Pierce $277,504

Property taxes

Every Florida property bill combines several taxing authorities. The table shows the rates each city adopted for fiscal year 2025-26, the rates on the November 2025 bills, and the county commission’s general rate.

Port St. Lucie Fort Pierce Stuart
City rate 4.6607 operating + 0.3143 voted debt = 4.9750 6.9000 4.9000
County general rate 7.4131 (St. Lucie County) 7.4131 (St. Lucie County) 6.5614 (Martin County)

Sources: the City of Port St. Lucie’s fiscal year 2025-26 millage rate analysis (PDF); Fort Pierce’s published notice of Ordinance 25-026 (PDF), which set 6.9000 mills, 4.37% above the rollback rate; and the Florida Department of Revenue’s Table 1 comparison of taxes levied (PDF), published by the Martin County Property Appraiser, for Stuart and Martin County. One mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value.

Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce bills also carry the same countywide lines, from the city’s analysis: St. Lucie Public Schools 6.2960, the St. Lucie County Fire District 3.0000, the Children’s Services Council 0.3685, the South Florida Water Management District 0.2301 and the Florida Inland Navigation District 0.0270. For fiscal year 2026-27, Port St. Lucie’s City Council has since set 4.8750 mills, including the debt line; see our property taxes guide.

Homestead exemption. The exemption is set by state law and works the same way in all three cities; the Florida Department of Revenue’s homestead brochure (PDF) explains it. Owners file with their county’s property appraiser: St. Lucie County for Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce, Martin County for Stuart.

Chart: city tax rates

Bar chart of fiscal year 2025-26 city tax rates in mills: Fort Pierce 6.9000, Port St. Lucie 4.9750 including voted debt, Stuart 4.9000

High schools

District high schools with each city’s mailing address, with Florida’s grades for 2026, the same year for all three. A mailing address does not mean a school sits inside city limits or that a city address is zoned for it.

City High school 2026 grade 2025 grade
Port St. Lucie Port St. Lucie High A B
Port St. Lucie St. Lucie West Centennial High B B
Port St. Lucie Legacy High B Opened 2025
Port St. Lucie Treasure Coast High Incomplete B
Fort Pierce Lincoln Park Academy (grades 6-12) A A
Fort Pierce Fort Pierce Central High C B
Fort Pierce Fort Pierce Westwood Academy C B
Stuart South Fork High A B
Stuart Martin County High B B

Two Port St. Lucie areas, Torino and St. Lucie North, are zoned for Fort Pierce Central High. More in our schools guide.

City services

Service Port St. Lucie Fort Pierce Stuart
Police Port St. Lucie Police Department Fort Pierce Police Department Stuart Police Department
Fire and rescue St. Lucie County Fire District St. Lucie County Fire District Stuart Fire Rescue, a city department
Trash pickup City contract with FCC Environmental Services (our guide) The city’s Solid Waste Division The city’s Sanitation Services

How to check an address

Frequently asked questions

Are property taxes higher in Fort Pierce or Port St. Lucie?

Fort Pierce’s city rate is higher. For fiscal year 2025-26 Fort Pierce levied 6.9000 mills and Port St. Lucie 4.9750, including its voted debt line. Both cities share the same St. Lucie County, school and other countywide rates.

What county is Stuart, Florida, in?

Martin County. Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce are in St. Lucie County, so Stuart has a different county tax rate, property appraiser and school district.

Is Port St. Lucie bigger than Fort Pierce?

Yes. The Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates put Port St. Lucie at 232,491 people, Fort Pierce at 49,082 and Stuart at 18,520.

What are typical home values in Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce and Stuart?

In August 2026 the Zillow Home Value Index was $384,593 in Port St. Lucie, $374,124 in Stuart and $277,504 in Fort Pierce. Zillow’s index is a modeled typical value, not a sale price.