Best PlacesSt. Johns County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Johns County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
St. Johns County ranks 23rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $121,508, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are car insurance costs, childcare costs, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in St. Johns County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in St. Johns County
The parts of St. Johns County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Palm Valley, Ponte Vedra & Ponte Vedra Beach
More adults hold degrees, it is quieter, and incomes run higher.
Fruit Cove & Jacksonville
More households have young kids and local pay stretches further.
World Golf Village
Heat risk is lower and fewer homes sit empty.
Vermont Heights
Tree cover is thicker, though schools score lower.
St. Augustine Shores, St. Augustine Beach & Butler Beach
Health outcomes score lower and prices have run up more.
Flagler Estates
Homes cost less, though health care is harder to reach.
St. Augustine
Fewer residents vote and crime runs higher.
St. Johns County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 6% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
St. Johns County's strengths and weaknesses
St. Johns County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. State infrastructure and low crime follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Car insurance costs, childcare costs, and an overheated housing market hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where St. Johns County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 98% of counties
Where St. Johns County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,222 a month, better than only 9% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in St. Johns County
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Johns County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $121,508, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses St. Johns County's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in St. Johns County
St. Johns County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for St. Johns County.
Who works in St. Johns County, and how
Work in St. Johns County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in St. Johns County
St. Johns County has more parkland per resident than 78% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 75% of counties. The coast is about 17 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of St. Johns County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is St. Johns County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Johns County has grown about 54% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Jacksonville, FL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving St. Johns County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in St. Johns County, month by month
St. Johns County sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 57° | 46° |
| April | 80° | 70° | 60° |
| July | 90° | 81° | 75° |
| October | 82° | 75° | 67° |
Flying in and out of St. Johns County
Jacksonville International sits about 38 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2025, with 86 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around St. Johns County
Schools across St. Johns County average an A, better than 98% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ponte Vedra Palm Valley- Rawlings Elementary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Hickory Creek Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Ocean Palms Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alice B. Landrum Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Fruit Cove Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Switzerland Point Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top high schools
- Ponte Vedra High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Creekside High SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Allen D Nease Senior High SchoolA · 79% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Johns County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Johns County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare St. Johns County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Johns County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 27% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 80% of counties, health care access beats 93%, and it is quieter than 58%.
Common questions about living in St. Johns County
Is St. Johns County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Johns County ranks 23rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, state infrastructure, and low crime, and lowest on car insurance costs and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. Johns County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $548,168. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $121,508 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is St. Johns County safe?
Yes, St. Johns County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $131 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Johns County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 46. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in St. Johns County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Palm Valley, Ponte Vedra & Ponte Vedra Beach, Fruit Cove & Jacksonville, and World Golf Village. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is St. Johns County good for families?
Schools beat 98% of counties, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,222 a month.
Is St. Johns County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 90% of counties. About 27% of workers already work from home.
Compare St. Johns County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Johns County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Johns County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
St. Johns County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Johns County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Johns County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Johns County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Johns County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Johns County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.