The City of Cape Canaveral is located on the Atlantic Ocean approximately midpoint between Miami and Jacksonville and is slightly over 50 miles east of Orlando. This 1.9 square-mile beach and coastal community is bounded on the west by the Banana River, on the north by Port Canaveral, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by Cocoa Beach.

Adjacent to the north side of the Port is the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA. Seven miles to the south of the City is Patrick Air Force Base. This strategic Florida location places the City in the center of America's space facilities and immediately adjacent to Port Canaveral, the only deep water port between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville. This location also means that the community is an integral part of the retirement-resort-vacation-recreation complex of the north beaches area of Brevard County.

By 1958 the beach area had grown in population as the Space Program flourished. At that time, the Cocoa Beach city limits were somewhat farther south and an adjacent city could annex an unincorporated area without a vote of the residents. Therefore, property owners were discussion the feasibility of forming a new city or a possible annexation by the City of Cocoa Beach, northward to the Port. Letters were sent to landowners, as far south as the SR 520 Causeway, asking their opinion on this matter. It was felt that there were advantages in becoming a city or town but, because of substantial city debts and land taxes being collected in Cocoa Beach, most Cape Canaveral residents preferred not to become part of the City of Cocoa Beach. Homeowners and business people in the Cape Canaveral area were becoming concerned about their investment in the community and decided the time was right to pursue incorporation to create a city or town of their own.