You can see it everywhere on the Treasure Coast, growth woven into every part of daily life. Traffic backs up earlier each morning. A commute that once took 10 minutes now takes 20 or even 30. For decades, Florida was known as a retirement destination. However, home prices consistently outpace paychecks, and classrooms feel fuller than they did just a few years ago. But if you look past the frustration and examine the numbers, a more evident truth emerges: we are growing quickly, but it doesn’t always feel strategic. And when growth outpaces planning, long-term residents feel the strain first.
Last year alone, St. Lucie County welcomed more than 8,000 new residents. Port St. Lucie remains one of the nation’s top 10 fastest-growing cities. Yet job creation isn’t keeping pace. For every 100 people working in St. Lucie, only 67 jobs exist locally, well behind Martin County (88) and Indian River (94). Tens of thousands of residents now leave the county each day for work, taking their time, talent, and spending power with them.
Housing pressures deepen the imbalance. Median home prices have surged more than 60% in the last five years, while wages have risen only about 20%. Nearly one in three renters is now cost-burdened. These pressures aren’t hypothetical; they’re measurable. And as many long-time residents will tell you, when housing becomes unaffordable, and roads can’t keep up, natives begin moving out, not because they want to leave, but because they feel pushed out of the community they love…