St. Augustine, FL

St. Johns County’s median household income was $109,839 in the 2020-2024 ACS, and the county had a 2025 population estimate of 346,328, which gives a sense of the local buying power around St. Augustine (Census QuickFacts^[1]). County property taxation is administered by the St. Johns County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector, and the county’s published tax roll shows millage rates and taxes levied at the county and municipal level (Tax Roll^[2]). Florida has no state individual income tax, and the Jacksonville metro is the relevant BLS geography for CPI, so cost-of-living comparisons should be read at metro level rather than as a city figure (BLS Jacksonville metro page^[3]).

UF Health Flagler Hospital is in St. Augustine at 400 Health Park Blvd, and UF Health says UF Health St. Johns is an extension of that hospital, which gives the city an in-town anchor for routine and urgent care (UF Health Flagler Hospital^[4]). Mayo Clinic Primary Care in St. Augustine is at 110 Southwood Lake Drive, and Mayo notes that more-specialized laboratory tests and diagnostic scans are easily scheduled at its Jacksonville campus (Mayo Clinic St. Augustine Primary Care^[5]). AdventHealth also opened specialty care in St. Augustine and operates nearby hospital care in Palm Coast, so residents have multiple pathways for cardiology, orthopedics, GI, and emergency care (AdventHealth specialty care expansion^[6]).

NOAA’s 1991-2020 climate normals are the official baseline for U.S. stations, and the Florida Climate Center points users to NCEI station normals for temperature and rainfall data (NCEI U.S. Climate Normals^[7], Florida Climate Center data^[8]). Florida’s official climate-normal products exist, but a St. Augustine station table in the tool output is not given, so city-specific precipitation or temperature values are not given here. For a retiree, the practical takeaway is a long warm-season climate with peak comfort in late fall through spring, and summer should be treated as hot, humid, and thunderstorm-prone (NCEI U.S. Climate Normals^[7]).

The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the official UCR data front door, but agency participation is voluntary and incomplete in recent years, so county-level figures are the safer way to discuss St. Augustine’s area (FBI UCR/CDE overview^[9]). A county-level FBI-linked summary for St. Johns County shows 95.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, 10.0% below the national average, and 127.9 property crimes per 100,000, 21.8% below the national average, using the most recent five-year period available in that summary (Crime in St Johns County, FL^[10]). Because a city-specific St. Augustine Police Department reporting page from the FBI dataset is not confirmed in the material, so no city estimate is given here; the county figure is the best confirmed proxy (Crime in St Johns County, FL^[10]).

St. Augustine city proper shows a median listing price of $445,000 and a median of 40 days on market in the local MLS report, while the broader St. Augustine market report shows a median list price of $477,475 and 62 days on market, both indicating a market that is not ultra-fast by Florida coastal standards (Krista Fracke, St. Augustine market report^[11]). On a broader geography, St. Johns County’s median sale price was $497K over the last 3 months, up 2.6% year over year, with homes selling in about 81 days, which suggests the county buyer pool is still active but not frenzied (Redfin, St. Johns County housing market^[12]). Zillow’s county page shows the median list price at $529,617 and median days to pending at 53, with the county’s median home value down 1.5% year over year, a sign that prices have softened even as resale velocity remains respectable (Zillow, Saint Johns County housing market^[13]). St. Johns County also has multiple 55+ and active-adult communities, including Del Webb Saint Johns, Reverie at SilverLeaf, WaterSong at RiverTown, and Moultrie Oaks, confirming a meaningful retirement-oriented housing supply nearby (55+ Communities in St. Johns County^[14], Dream St. Augustine^[15], Moultrie Oaks^[16], Private Communities, Active Adult Communities Florida^[17]).

For St. Jacksonville International Airport is the practical commercial airport for St. Augustine to Jacksonville at 41 miles away (Expedia route page^[18]). St. Augustine also has Northeast Florida Regional Airport (UST), but the source confirms it mainly as the origin airport in the route listing rather than a broad hub for major airline service (Expedia route page^[18]). In practice, the nearby airport advantage is access to JAX for connections to major hubs, while the local airport is useful for convenience rather than breadth of nonstop service (Expedia St. Augustine flights overview^[19]).

St. Johns County is widely golf-oriented, and the county’s tourism and residential pattern is tied to golf-course development around St. Augustine (St. Johns County Wikipedia overview^[20]). Public and semi-private options are in the immediate market, but a verified count of all public courses within exactly 30 minutes is not given here, so the course list stays conservative and source-linked. For an active retiree, the key upside is variety, from full public rounds to higher-end club environments, plus nearby beaches and water access for non-golf days (St. Johns County Wikipedia overview^[20]).

St. Johns County’s population was 346,328 in the July 1, 2025 Census estimate, the median household income was $109,839, and owner-occupied housing was 82.2%, which is a strong fit for a well-kept owner-occupant retirement market (Census QuickFacts^[1]). The county’s median age is 44.2, which is older than many fast-growth Florida metros and suggests a sizable retiree and near-retiree base (Census QuickFacts^[1]). St. Augustine itself anchors the county culturally, and the city’s historic core gives it a walkable, amenity-rich feel even though the surrounding county remains spread out and car-oriented (St. Augustine CCD profile^[21]).

FEMA’s National Risk Index is county-based, and for St. St. Johns County is characterized overall as relatively moderate risk, with hurricane and coastal flooding as the leading hazards and inland flooding also relevant (FEMA National Risk Index^[22], St. Johns County NRI summary^[23]). EPA AirData annual AQI summaries are available at county or CBSA level, with the key metric being the number of days with AQI 0 to 50, but a confirmed St. Johns County figure is not given here. St. Johns County annual good-air-day count is not given here (EPA AirData reports^[24]). For a retiree, the practical planning issue is wind, surge, and flood insurance rather than chronic air-pollution burden, with occasional wildfire-smoke episodes possible regionally even if local baseline air quality is usually acceptable (FEMA National Risk Index^[22]).