The city is emerging from the shadow of Palm Beach, just across the water, with new condo and office towers.

West Palm Beach is emerging from the shadow of its affluent world-famous neighbor, Palm Beach, with new luxury condo and office towers as well as a billionaire developer aiming to transform it into the Wall Street of the South.

In Palm Beach today, President Donald Trump occupies his Mar-a-Lago compound as the rich and famous continue to snap up multi-million-dollar mansions. But since the Covid-19 pandemic, West Palm Beach, too, has attracted wealthy newcomers and big-name financial firms, as well as world-class art, entertainment, and shopping.


By The New York Times

Location: Palm Beach County, 70 miles north of Miami and 45 miles north of Fort Lauderdale

Population: 127,744 (2024 U.S. Census Bureau estimate)

Area: 54 square miles

Housing: 50 percent homeownership rate

The vibe: A palm tree-lined, sun-drenched, laid-back city with a few high-rises and world-class amenities.

Henry Flagler, the oil magnate, founded Palm Beach during the Gilded Age, building an oceanfront resort on a barrier island. West Palm Beach, on the mainland, housed the workers who serviced the wealthy.“For decades, if you lived in West Palm Beach, people would say ‘Oh my God, you’re across the bridge’,” said Robert Kemp, a real estate broker with Douglas Elliman who’s worked and lived in West Palm Beach for over 30 years. “Then, West Palm became almost like a part of Palm Beach.”

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