[7] The Ais people, attracted to the mouth of Turkey Creek at the Indian River by freshwater springs, fish, oysters, and wildlife, are thought to have been the first inhabitants in the Palm Bay area.

An 1870 map of the Indian River by John Andrew Bostrom shows the area void of any settlements within about 15 miles of Turkey Creek.

Tillman's wharf marked the mouth of Turkey Creek at what became known as Palm Bay on the Indian River.

[2] A group of Tillman businessmen established the Melbourne-Tillman Drainage District, and issued $1.5 million worth of bonds.

Starting in 1922, a 180 miles (290 km) grid of 80 canals was dug to drain 40,000 acres (160 km2) of swampy land west of Palm Bay for other uses.

These actions had the unintended consequences of leaving the land more vulnerable to flooding from storms and destroying important habitats for complex ecology.

Farmers planted citrus groves and truck farms which shipped winter produce by the Florida East Coast Railroad to northern markets.

[10] In 1926, a fire among the dredges and a severe hurricane caused extensive damage, leading to an economic downturn in Palm Bay.

In 1959, General Development Corporation purchased and platted extensive tracts of land in Palm Bay for a large residential project known as Port Malabar.

[12] On April 23, 1987, William Bryan Cruse Jr. shot and killed six people, including two college students and two police officers, at a local shopping center.

[15] In October 1994, $500,000 of gold and gems stolen from a jewelry store which was at the time the largest single robbery in the city's history.

This was considered an essentially "worthless" valuation because arsenic had been found in the groundwater and remediation would cost an estimated $12 million to clean up.

The voters have consistently defeated measures to raise money to invest in infrastructure to improve the roads, which are described as the worst in Brevard County.

In 2011, the city government created a Palm Bay Road Maintenance District that they hope can levy taxes and alleviate the situation.

[21][22] In 2009, the Brevard Zoo moved the remaining 15 Florida scrub jay families native to the city to Buck Lake Conservation Area in Mims.

The Florida scrub jay is a threatened species due to it being territorial; it is unable to move to better grounds when its habitat is jeopardized.

The company intends to develop a multi-use, eco-friendly urban community to include residential zones consisting of townhouses, and commercial zones consisting of state-of-the-art medical facilities, research and development centers for technology firms, and urbanized retail shopping centers.

Later phases of the project will bring the roadway further south and then east following the lower city limits, eventually connecting to I-95 just north of Micco Road.

[27] A state roadway improvement project includes planned widening SR 507 (Babcock Street) from four lanes to six.

[28] In 2015, the Harris Corporation constructed a new 464,000-square-foot technology center near Palm Bay Road and Troutman Boulevard.

The building is one of the largest in the northeast section of the city and is reported to house approximately 1,400 scientists and engineers for the company.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is constructing a new diverging diamond interchange DDI on Interstate 95 just north of Micco Road within the city limits.

The city is working on the southern portion of the parkway to extend from Babcock Street SE to Micco Road.

The project is intended to improve traffic capacity, operations, and safety, as well as promote economic development in southern Brevard County.

The city formerly monitored some intersections with radar cameras, resulting in the issuing of traffic tickets to drivers who ran red lights.

[31] The city is often referred to in four quadrants: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast, each containing multiple zip codes.

[42][43] Large employers in the city include: In 2007, the average size of Palm Bay's labor force was 49,935.

The Mayor is the presiding officer at the Council Meetings and is the official head of the city for all ceremonial occasions.

Power is centralized in the elected Mayor and Council (City Council), which approves the budget, determines the tax rate, focuses on the community's goals, major projects, and such long-term considerations as community growth, land use development, capital improvement plans, capital financing, and strategic planning.

Crimes included murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.