Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida, situated along the Indian River on the state's Space Coast, roughly midway between Titusville and Melbourne. It lies on the mainland west of the barrier island, across the river from Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. With a population of about 19,000 recorded in the 2020 census, Cocoa is a long-established county hub whose identity blends a historic riverfront downtown with the region's defining aerospace industry. The area was settled beginning around 1860 and platted in 1882 as Indian River City before being renamed Cocoa in 1884 and incorporated in 1895. The city's modern trajectory was transformed after World War II by the arrival of NASA and the space program, which drove the population from roughly 3,000 in 1940 to more than 12,000 by 1960 and made Cocoa a destination for residents and visitors drawn to rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. That aerospace economy remains a defining thread across Brevard County. Cocoa's commercial and cultural center is Historic Cocoa Village, a riverfront district of restored early-twentieth-century buildings that now hosts shops, restaurants, galleries, and the Cocoa Village Playhouse. The Indian River and Cocoa Riverfront Park give the city a waterfront orientation, while Riverside Drive showcases older Florida homes beneath mature oaks. Public schools are part of Brevard Public Schools, the countywide district, and Eastern Florida State College maintains a campus in the city. For people considering a move to the Space Coast, Cocoa offers a historically rooted, more affordable mainland alternative to the beachside communities, with direct access to the river, the beaches via State Road 520, Kennedy Space Center, and the attractions of Orlando within a practical drive.