St. Johns County, Florida

Saint Johns County
County
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°55′N 81°25′W
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	July 21, 1821
Seat	St. Augustine
Area
• Total	821 sq mi (2,130 km2)
• Land	609 sq mi (1,580 km2)
• Water	212 sq mi (550 km2)  25.86%
Population  (2000)
• Total	123,135
• Density	200/sq mi (78/km2)
Website	www.co.st-johns.fl.us

St. Johns County is a county located in northeastern Florida. As of the 2000 census, the population was 123,135. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population as of 2008 at 181,540. The county seat is St. Augustine. Due to the inclusion of Ponte Vedra Beach, it is one of the highest-income counties in the United States.

St. Johns County is part of the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan area. It has experienced explosive growth in the last ten years as a flood of people working in Jacksonville built new homes across the county line.

History

St. Johns County was created in 1821. It was named for St. John the Baptist. St. Johns County and Escambia County were Florida's original two counties with the Suwannee River being the boundary between the two. Oil has recently been found off the beaches . Kids were wondering why the water was brown and mot the usual greenish color.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 821 square miles (2,127 km²), of which, 609 square miles (1,577 km²) of it is land and 212 square miles (550 km²) of it is water, much of it in the Atlantic Ocean. The total area is 25.86% water. St. Johns County's main economic base is tourism.

Adjacent counties

• Duval County, Florida - north
• Flagler County, Florida - south
• Putnam County, Florida - southwest
• Clay County, Florida - west

National protected areas

• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
• Fort Matanzas National Monument

Government

The St. Johns County Commission is an elected five-member commission, which appoints a county administrator. The main environmental and agricultural body is the St. Johns County Soil and Water Conservation District, which works closely with other area agencies.

Education

The St. Johns County School District is controlled by the St. Johns County School Board, which is an elected, five-member board. They appoint a superintendent to administer the operation of public schools in the county. With the tremendous population growth, the number of academic high schools tripled between 2000 and 2008.

For the 2008-2009 school year there were:
• 17 elementary schools (grades K-5)
• 1 grammar school (grades K-8)
• 7 middle schools (grades 6-8)
• 7 high schools

The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is a public-supported residential school operated by and for the state of Florida and located in St. Augustine.

St. Johns River Community College has 2 campus locations in the county: St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra.

Flagler College is a private, liberal arts college located in downtown St. Augustine.

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is a facility for Physical and Occupational Therapy Education.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 123,135 people, 49,614 households, and 34,084 families residing in the county. The population density was 202 people per square mile (78/km²). There were 58,008 housing units at an average density of 95 per square mile (37/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.92% White, 6.29% African American, 0.26% American Indian, 0.95% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.63% of the population.

There were 49,614 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.90.

The age of the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,099, and the median income for a family was $59,153. Males had a median income of $40,783 versus $27,240 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,674. About 5.10% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.30% of those under age 18 and 6.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated

1. Town of Hastings
2. Town of Marineland
3. City of St. Augustine
4. City of St. Augustine Beach

Unincorporated

• Butler Beach
• Crescent Beach
• Elkton
• Flagler Estates
• Fruit Cove
• Julington Creek (Plantation)
• Nocatee
• Palm Valley
• Ponte Vedra Beach
• Sawgrass
• St. Johns
• St. Augustine Shores
• St. Augustine South
• Spuds
• Summer Haven
• Switzerland
• Vilano Beach
• Vermont Heights

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

• St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners official website
• St. Johns County Public Library System
• St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections
• St. Johns County Property Appraiser
• St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
• St. Johns County Tax Collector
• St. Johns County School Board

Special districts

• St. Johns River Water Management District

Judicial branch

• St. Johns County Clerk of Courts
• Public Defender, 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties
• Office of the State Attorney, 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Circuit and County Court for the 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida
• St. Johns County Bar Association

Tourism links

• St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & the Beaches Visitor and Convention Bureau
• St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce
• augustine.com St. Augustine Vacation Guide. Complete listings of attractions, accommodations, restaurants, and more.

Local news media

• St. Johns County is served by two daily newspapers, the Florida Times-Union/jacksonville.com and The St. Augustine Record/staugustine.com. The Ponte Vedra Recorder/pontevedrarecorder.com is a twice weekly paper serving northeast St. Johns County.
• Historic City News - Local news for St. Augustine and St. Johns County, FL