St. Johns County
County
St. Johns County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°55′N 81°25′W / 29.91°N 81.41°W / 29.91; -81.41
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	July 21, 1821
Named for	San Juan del Puerto
Seat	St. Augustine
Largest community	St. Johns
Area
• Total	822 sq mi (2,130 km2)
• Land	601 sq mi (1,560 km2)
• Water	221 sq mi (570 km2)  26.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	273,425
• Density	455/sq mi (176/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	5th, 6th
Website	www.sjcfl.us

St. Johns County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 273,425.^[1] The county seat and most populous incorporated city is St. Augustine, although the nearby community, St. Johns, has a higher population.^[2] St. Johns County is part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The county was established in 1821. It is one of the two original counties established after Florida was ceded to the United States, at the start of the Florida Territorial period, and corresponded roughly to the former colonial province of East Florida. It was named for the St. Johns River, which runs along its western border.

Today, St. Johns County primarily comprises residential bedroom communities for those who commute to Jacksonville. Tourism, primarily associated with St. Augustine and the many golf courses in the area, is the chief economic industry.

History

St. Johns County's history begins in 1821, when Colonel Robert Butler received Spanish East Florida from Captain-General Colonel José M. Coppinger. Butler represented Major General Andrew Jackson, federal military commissioner for the Florida provinces (las Floridas) with the powers of governor, exercising the powers of the Captain General and the Intendants of the Island of Cuba and the governors of the said provinces, respectively, who ordained that all the country east of the river Suwannee^[3] should be designated the County of St. Johns.

St. Johns was established, along with Escambia County (in the former West Florida province), on July 21, 1821, 11 days after Butler received Florida for the United States, and five days after the city of St. Augustine was incorporated.

The name Saint John's was derived from the Spanish mission (c. 1580) San Juan del Puerto ("Saint John of the Harbor"). The U.S. Department of the Interior dropped the apostrophe in 1932 because an apostrophe implied ownership.

It was a huge county, encompassing most of peninsular Florida, more than 39,000 square miles; it was 475 miles long by 165 miles wide. Much of the land was uninhabited. Saint Augustine (1565) was the oldest permanent European settlement, and there were Native Americans in the county as well.^[3]

Coat of arms

As described in Certification of the Coat of Arms:^[4]

In a field of green an Agnus Dei of silver, suspended on the dexter side of the Agnus Dei is a silver banner with red cross (as a direct allusion and symbol of the name of the County). On a heraldic chief of red is a gold castle with towers, with masonry joints in black, and with the windows and doors in red (in recognition of the fortress that was constructed in the military garrison of St. Augustine which is a part of the County).

An overall border is composed of eight parts; alternating, a red quadrilateral, with a gold castle and quadrilateral of silver with a purple lion rampant (that is to say, alternating the simplified Arms of Castille and Leon).

Given for a crest is a mural crown of a province. This is a circle of gold walls with in reality twelve gold towers with all the masonry joints in black. Only seven of the towers are visible in the drawing.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 822 square miles (2,130 km²), of which 601 square miles (1,560 km²) is land and 221 square miles (570 km²) (26.9%) is water.^[5]

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
• Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 273,425 people, 91,253 households, and 67,548 families residing in the county.

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 123,135 people, 49,614 households, and 34,084 families residing in the county. The population density was 202 inhabitants 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 15.8% of the population.^[16]

There were 49,614 households, of which 29.2% had children under age 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 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 23.1% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 41. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and older, there were 91.5 males.

The median household income was $50,099, and the median family income was $59,153. Males had a median income of $40,783 versus $27,240 for females. The per capita income was $28,674. About 5.1% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under 18 and 6.2% of those 65 or older.

Government