The Palm Beaches
From Boca Raton up to Jupiter, this stretch mixes lively downtowns in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach with quiet oceanfront towns, golf communities and clear water at the inlets.
On average, strongest on boating, beaches and peace and quiet. Weakest on nightlife.
Average of the 16 town scorecards. How we score
Boca Raton
A polished city of pink Mediterranean buildings, big parks and beaches kept natural behind a line of dunes.
Highland Beach
A three mile strip of oceanfront condos and homes between Boca Raton and Delray Beach, with no shops and no crowds.
Delray Beach
A walkable downtown that runs right to the ocean and stays up late.
Boynton Beach
A big, easygoing city with a busy harbor marina at the inlet, a growing downtown on Ocean Avenue and wetlands to the west.
Lantana
A small, old Florida town on the Intracoastal with a little public beach across the bridge and the state's oldest waterfront restaurant.
Lake Worth Beach
An artsy little city with a lively downtown of bungalows and storefronts, a bridge over the lagoon to a classic public beach and pier.
Palm Beach
A barrier island of clipped hedges, grand estates and Worth Avenue, with a bike trail along the lake.
West Palm Beach
The downtown of Palm Beach County, with Clematis Street, a waterfront, the Norton Museum of Art and a Brightline train station.
Riviera Beach
A working port city with a big public marina, Peanut Island offshore and the beaches of Singer Island across the bridge.
Palm Beach Shores
An eleven block town at the south tip of Singer Island, wrapped by the ocean, the Palm Beach Inlet and the Intracoastal, with a 1950s beach town feel.
CompareLake Park
A compact, older town on the Intracoastal with a busy public marina, a small downtown on Park Avenue and the inlet just to the south.
North Palm Beach
A village wrapped in water, between the Intracoastal and Lake Worth, with a state park beach across the bridge.
Palm Beach Gardens
A green, golf centered city a few miles inland, home to PGA National and a lot of shopping and dining.
Juno Beach
A small, low key oceanfront town known for its long fishing pier, wide sandy beach and the sea turtles that nest there every summer.
Jupiter
Clear inlet water, a red lighthouse and a relaxed, outdoorsy pace.
CompareTequesta
A small riverfront village at the top of Palm Beach County, where the Loxahatchee River meets the Intracoastal and the beach is a short bridge away.