Duval vs. St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker Counties: Pay, Home Prices, Rent and Growth Compared

Jacksonville, Fla. — St. Johns County has the highest median household income and fastest population growth among five Northeast Florida counties, while Duval County has the most jobs and building permits. Baker County has the lowest median home value and rent, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The comparison covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker counties. It shows how living costs and growth differ across the region, even as all five counties have gained population since 2020.

The five counties side by side

Population figures are estimates for July 1, 2025. Income and housing figures come from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, with dollar figures expressed in 2024 dollars.

The numbers are countywide medians and estimates, not prices or incomes for every household or community. Comparing the measures together offers a fuller picture than judging a county by one figure.

St. Johns leads in pay, but housing costs more

St. Johns County's median household income is $109,839, the highest of the five counties. That is $38,562 more than Duval County's $71,277.

The housing difference is also considerable. St. Johns has a median owner-occupied home value of $489,200, which is $185,700 higher than Duval's $303,500. Its median gross rent is $1,922 monthly, compared with $1,475 in Duval.

For homeowners with a mortgage, median monthly owner costs are $2,351 in St. Johns and $1,753 in Duval. The St. Johns homeownership rate is 82.2%, compared with 58.2% in Duval.

St. Johns also has the highest share of adults with at least a bachelor's degree at 50.9%, and the lowest poverty rate at 5.8%. Those figures add context to the income differences, without establishing why an individual household earns more or less.

Baker has the lowest home values and rents

At $256,700, Baker County's median home value is the lowest among the five. Its median gross rent of $1,302 is also the lowest.

Baker's median monthly ownership cost with a mortgage is $1,528, below the comparable amounts in Duval, St. Johns, Clay and Nassau. Its homeownership rate, however, is the highest in the group at 85.1%.

The county has an estimated 29,737 residents, far fewer than its neighbors in the comparison. Its median household income is $79,836, above Duval's $71,277, while its poverty rate of 13.0% is the highest of the five.

Those measures show why the county with the least expensive median housing is not necessarily the county with the lowest median household income.

All five counties grew, but at different speeds

St. Johns County's population grew 26.7% since 2020, reaching an estimated 346,328 residents in July 2025. Nassau County followed with 18.3% growth and an estimated population of 106,879.

Clay increased 9.8%, Duval grew 6.8%, and Baker gained 5.2%. Duval remains the largest county by a wide margin, with an estimated 1,062,963 residents.

Construction figures help illustrate the scale of recent development, though they cover a different time period. Duval recorded 6,017 building permits in 2025, the most among the counties. St. Johns followed with 4,735 permits, compared with 1,522 in Clay, 1,060 in Nassau and 121 in Baker.

A higher permit count is not the same measure as faster percentage population growth. Duval leads in permits, while St. Johns leads in population growth rate.

Duval remains the biggest employment center

Duval County recorded 508,104 jobs in 2023, substantially more than any of the other four counties. St. Johns had 80,082, Clay had 48,303, Nassau had 21,651 and Baker had 6,203.

These employment totals are based on jobs located in each county rather than the number of residents who have jobs. That difference matters in a region where the location of work and the location of home can be different.

Duval also had the highest retail sales per capita in the comparison, at $28,932 in 2022. St. Johns recorded $17,639, Baker $14,437, Nassau $13,341 and Clay $12,933.

Duval's population includes 80,475 veterans, the largest veteran count of the five counties. Clay follows with 27,517, St. Johns with 23,534, Nassau with 8,635 and Baker with 1,433.

Clay residents have the longest average commute

Clay County's mean travel time to work is 31.3 minutes, the longest in this comparison. Nassau follows at 30.1 minutes, Baker at 29.9 minutes and St. Johns at 26.9 minutes.

Duval has the shortest average commute at 24.1 minutes. The averages describe reported travel times, not how long every resident spends getting to work.

Nassau also stands apart in age distribution. Residents 65 and older make up 26.7% of its population, the highest share among the five counties. St. Johns follows at 22.5%, while Clay is at 18.8%, Duval at 17.3% and Baker at 17.2%.

For households comparing counties, rent, purchase prices, ownership costs and commuting figures may point in different directions. The figures describe broad county patterns rather than a single choice that fits every resident.

How we did this

Jax Times compared U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts figures for Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker counties, reviewed Oct. 23, 2026. Population estimates are dated July 1, 2025, while income, housing, education, poverty, veteran and commute figures come from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. Dollar figures use 2024 values.

Building permits reflect 2025, employment counts are from 2023, and retail sales are from 2022. The comparison uses only those published county-level figures and arithmetic differences between them.