Duval Has 82,418 Veterans, While Clay Has Northeast Florida's Highest Share at 1 in 7 Adults

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Duval County has 82,418 veterans, the most among three Northeast Florida counties examined, while Clay County has the highest concentration, with roughly 1 in 7 civilian adults having served in the military. New U.S. Census Bureau estimates show veterans account for 14.5% of Clay County's adult civilian population, compared with 10.2% in Duval County and 9.6% in St. Johns County. Together, the three counties are home to an estimated 133,881 veterans.

The figures come from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey, which measures veteran status among civilian residents age 18 and older. The numbers do not include active-duty military personnel stationed at NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport or other military installations. With Veterans Day approaching Wednesday, Nov. 11, the data provides a closer look at the people who previously served, including their ages, incomes, poverty rates and disabilities.

Veterans by County: How Northeast Florida Compares

Clay County stands out because veterans make up a considerably larger share of its adult civilian population than in the surrounding counties included in the data. Duval County has more than three times as many veterans as Clay County, but its overall adult population is also substantially larger. All three counties exceed both Florida's statewide veteran percentage of 7.0% and the national rate of 5.9%.

The figures are survey estimates rather than exact counts, and each carries a margin of error. Duval County's estimated veteran population has a margin of error of plus or minus 5,136, while Clay County's is plus or minus 3,119 and St. Johns County's is plus or minus 2,889. Nassau and Baker counties were not available in the 2024 one-year release, so this comparison covers only Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties.

Nearly Half of St. Johns County Veterans Are 65 or Older

The veteran population differs considerably by age across Northeast Florida. In Duval County, approximately 37% of veterans are 65 or older, while Clay County's share is about 39%. St. Johns County has the oldest veteran population of the three by this measure, with 49% of its veterans age 65 or older.

Duval County's largest veteran age group is 35 to 54, with an estimated 21,837 residents. Another 20,994 veterans fall between ages 55 and 64, making those two age groups substantial portions of the county's veteran population. The county also has 30,319 veterans age 65 or older, including 14,839 who are at least 75.

St. Johns County presents a different picture, with 7,440 veterans age 75 or older, its largest individual age group. An estimated 12,267 of the county's 25,218 veterans are at least 65. Clay County has 10,358 veterans in those older age groups, compared with 15,887 younger than 65.

More Than 31,000 Duval Veterans Served Since September 2001

Military service periods offer another way to understand Northeast Florida's veteran population. An estimated 31,908 Duval County veterans, approximately 39% of the county's total, served at some point since September 2001. Clay County has 9,501 veterans with service during that period, representing 36%, while St. Johns County has 7,924, or approximately 31%.

Duval County's post-September 2001 figure includes 20,376 veterans who served during that period only, along with 11,259 who served during both Gulf War eras. Another 273 served across the Gulf War eras and the Vietnam era. These groups together account for the county's 31,908 veterans who served at some point since September 2001.

St. Johns County has a particularly substantial Vietnam-era veteran population, with 7,038 residents in that service category. They represent approximately 28% of the county's veterans, making Vietnam-era service its largest single service-period group. The comparison excludes veterans whose service also included Korea or World War II from the Vietnam-era counts presented here.

Veteran Income Exceeds Nonveteran Income in All Three Counties

Veterans report higher median individual incomes than nonveterans in each of the three counties examined. St. Johns County veterans have the highest median income at $70,717, followed by Clay County at $60,859 and Duval County at $52,218. These figures cover civilians age 18 and older who had income during the previous 12 months, rather than household income.

Clay County records the largest estimated income gap between veterans and nonveterans, at $21,941 annually. St. Johns County follows with a $17,406 difference, while Duval County's gap is $11,937. Statewide, Florida veterans have a median income of $54,692 compared with $38,440 among nonveterans.

These differences should be interpreted with care because the veteran income estimates have substantial margins of error. Duval County's veteran median income estimate has a margin of error of plus or minus $3,293, while Clay County's is plus or minus $9,252. St. Johns County's margin is plus or minus $9,536, meaning the reported dollar figures should not be treated as exact measures of income.

Poverty Rates Among Working-Age Veterans

Veterans ages 18 to 64 have lower estimated poverty rates than nonveterans in both Duval and Clay counties. In Duval County, 4,348 of 52,043 veterans in this age range live below the poverty threshold, representing 8.4%. That compares with 64,108 of 579,947 nonveterans, or 11.1%.

Clay County shows a wider difference between its veteran and nonveteran poverty rates. An estimated 719 of 15,822 working-age veterans live in poverty, a rate of 4.5%, compared with 11,816 of 121,540 nonveterans, or 9.7%. St. Johns County has 318 veterans ages 18 to 64 living in poverty, representing 2.5% of its 12,917 veterans in that age range.

Across Florida, 46,221 of 620,106 veterans ages 18 to 64 live below the poverty threshold. That produces a statewide poverty rate of 7.5% for veterans in that age range. Duval County's estimated veteran poverty rate exceeds the statewide figure, while the rates in Clay and St. Johns counties fall below it.

Disability Rates Differ Sharply Between Duval and Clay

The Census estimates also show a substantial difference in disability rates among working-age veterans in Duval and Clay counties. In Clay County, 4,871 of 15,822 veterans ages 18 to 64 report a disability, representing 30.8%. Duval County has 7,871 veterans with disabilities among its 52,043 veterans in the same age range, a rate of 15.1%.

Duval County's estimated disability rate among nonveterans ages 18 to 64 is 10.9%, covering 63,027 of 579,947 residents. The veteran rate of 15.1% is therefore higher than the nonveteran rate within that same age range. The figures describe reported disability status and do not establish why the differences exist.

Women Represent About 18% of Duval County Veterans

Women account for an estimated 14,629 veterans in Duval County, approximately 18% of its veteran population. Men account for 67,789, making up the remaining majority of veterans in the county. The estimate for women veterans carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2,790.

Clay County has an estimated 3,279 women veterans, while St. Johns County has 3,274. Across Florida, the Census estimates 155,686 women veterans, representing approximately 12% of the state's 1,307,724 veterans. Duval County's estimated share of women veterans is therefore higher than the statewide percentage.

How We Did This

Jax Times used the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey one-year estimates, including tables B21001, B21002, B21004 and C21007, retrieved through Census Reporter on Oct. 25, 2026. The analysis compares veteran population, age, service periods, income, poverty and disability in Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties, along with available Florida and national figures. All veteran population estimates count civilian adults age 18 and older, exclude active-duty military personnel and carry survey margins of error; Nassau and Baker counties were excluded because their estimates were unavailable in the one-year release.