Jacksonville

Jacksonville Beach

The Count

The population of Jacksonville, a consolidated city-county, is 859,421, encompassing 94% of Duval County’s total population of 904,408.

Among the remaining municipalities:

• Atlantic Beach: Population 13,819

• Baldwin: 1,605

• Jacksonville Beach: 22,749

• Neptune Beach: 7,377

Growth

Between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2008, Duval County’s population grew by about 9%, compared to the state average of 14.7%. Growth in neighboring bedroom counties like Flagler and Clay, however, far outstripped the state average (Flagler, 83.1%; Clay, 31.2%).

Ethnicity

• White: 63.7% • Black: 31% • Hispanic: 5.9%

Only 8.2% of the city’s population is foreign-born. Slightly more than a third of that group was born in Asia; slightly more than a third was born in Latin America.

Almost half of the city’s population was born in Florida.

Only 11% of the population speaks a language other than English at home. Among that group less than half speak Spanish — 56% speak some other language.

Mobility

Between 2005-07, only 7% of the city’s population was composed of people who moved there from outside the county.

Duval County 2008 Election

• McCain: 50.5% • Obama: 48.6% • Other: 0.8%

Notable

Jacksonville has a slightly higher percentage of non-family households — households with members who are unrelated by birth, marriage or adoption — than other Florida communities.

Poverty

About 9.4% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 12% of those age 65 or over.

Religious Life

• Southern Baptist Convention: 41.7% (many in large evangelical congregations)

• Catholic: 18.9%

• Other religions: 14%

• United Methodist: 8.3%

• Presbyterian: 3.9%

• Episcopal: 3.8%

• Churches of Christ: 2.1%

• Assemblies of God: .3%

Neighborhoods

Avondale/Riverside — Historic neighborhods along the river southwest of downtown; 1920s-style upper-income homes, ranging from bungalows to quasi-mansions

Westside — Generally blue-collar, middle-class area with an agricultural and manufacturing heritage

Springfield — Gentrifying area just north of downtown with many historic homes

San Marco — “Artsy,” mostly upscale area south of downtown that includes a diverse mix of residents and buildings, including apartments and condos, an entertainment area and mansions on the river

Arlington — First-tier suburb developed mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly middle-class homes

Northside — Traditionally blue-collar area, slower-paced with much undeveloped land

Beaches — The beach communities tend toward low-rise development with more beachfront houses and fewer condos than elsewhere in Florida

Southeast — Fast-growth area including many newer suburbs and shopping centers that have sprung up on formerly forested land between downtown and the beaches; home to the San Marco neighborhood

The St. Johns River is one of the city’s greatest natural assets.