St. Johns County Florida   Located in North East Florida

St. Johns County Cities

Land area (rank): 617 square miles (43)
Population 1993 (rank): 91,197 (32)
Population density 1993 (rank): 148 persons per square mile ( 29)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 63.4% (9)

Physical Characteristics

St. Johns County is in northeast Florida and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and by Duval, Clay, Putnam, and Flagler counties. The county has 55 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 57.1 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 80.7 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 48.25 inches.

History

St. Johns County was established in 1821 as one of Florida's original two counties, the other being Escambia. The county was named for the St. Johns River. In 1565 Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded a settlement at St. Augustine. The town, continuously settled since that time, and the nearby Castillo de San Marcos attract thousands of visitors each year.

Population

In 1993, 82% of the population of St. Johns County was in unincorporated areas. Between 1970 and 1987, the population in unincorporated areas more than tripled. St. Augustine had the greatest population of incorporated places (11,747 in 1993). St. Augustine Beach had a 1993 population of 3,814, an increase from 632 in 1970. Fruit Cove-Switzerland, St. Augustine Shores, Palm Valley, and St. Augustine South all experienced substantial growth in the 1970s and 1980s. Other coastal communitiesÑPonte Vedra-Palm Valley, Crescent Beach, and Vilano BeachÑhave grown since 1980. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has designated St. Johns County (with Clay, Duval, and Nassau counties) as the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1993, 90% of St. Johns County's population was white and 10% was nonwhite. In 1990, 2.3% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 93.1% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate was 12.8 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 9.4 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 7.9 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 61.2% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 9.2%. In 1990, 79.9% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 23.6% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by St. Johns River Community College (Putnam County); Flagler College, Institute for Graduate Physical Therapy, St. Augustine.

Economy

The per capita income in St. Johns County for 1993 was $23,254 (8th highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $29,926. In 1989, 7.1% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 14.7% of personal income in St. Johns County was derived from transfer payments. The biggest employers are medical services, hotels and motels, eating and drinking establishments, and food stores. In 1992 there were 166 farms in St. Johns County, totalling 48,839 acres (12% of land in the county). St. Johns County is among the state's leading producers of potatoes. In 1991, 16,658 thousand board feet of softwood logs and 93,026 cords of softwood for pulp were produced. In 1991, 422,945 pounds of fish and 1,687,426 pounds of shellfish were landed.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $85,800
Median monthly rent 1990: $394
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 15.9
Housing starts 1992: 1,276
Housing starts 1993: 1,322

In 1992 the price level index for St. Johns County was 95.95 (23rd highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 6.2920, and the total taxable value of property was $4,057,980,099. Taxable sales totalled $741.10 million in 1992 and $788.20 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $12,043 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 St. Johns County's revenues totalled $132,425 thousand ($1,537.7 per capita) and its expenditures $132,665 ($1540.5 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 75.3% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 58.8% were registered Democrat and 36.3% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 50.5% of the votes were cast for Bush, 30.7% for Clinton, and 18.5% for Perot.

Events and Places of Interest

Menendez Day Celebration, February, Easter Week Festival, April, Cross and Sword, June, Spanish Night Watch, June, Days in Spain Fiesta, August, Founding of St. Augustine, September; Castillo de San Marcos, Fountain of Youth, Lightner Museum, Old Jail, Oldest House, Oldest Store, Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, Potter's Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe It or Not! At Augustine's Alligator Farm, Restored Spanish Quarter, Zorayda Castle, St. Augustine.