Green Cove Springs, Florida

Area Profile

10,044 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Green Cove Springs, in Clay County.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 43% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity3,382nd of 4,199 cities measured41
SchoolsTop 25% of 4,162 cities measured70
GrowthTop 9% of 4,224 cities measured75
Housing affordabilityTop 19% of 4,218 cities measured77
ClimateTop 17% of 4,225 cities measured80
Physical resilience3,077th of 4,226 cities measured34
Access2,143rd of 4,226 cities measured92
Economic stability2,653rd of 4,226 cities measured51
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.9% and the Opportunity signal places Green Cove Springs in the bottom 19%. The unemployment rate is published for Clay County, FL, which contains Green Cove Springs, rather than for Green Cove Springs alone.

In the public schools here, 64% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Clay County, FL, which contains Green Cove Springs, rather than for Green Cove Springs alone.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 167 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 92% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
10,044
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,142
Top 39% nationally
Density
1,172/sq mi
8.6 sq mi of land
Median age
37.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Florida
Nearest major airport
SGJ
21 mi · St Augustine
Median home value
$371,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Clay County, FL, which contains Green Cove Springs, is 4.9% — higher than in all but 29% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Clay County, FL, which contains Green Cove Springs, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 107,526 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsClay County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,07535th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftClay County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$61,21225th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,1572024 ACS 5-Year$75,142Top 39%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,0882024 ACS 5-Year$38,249Top 37%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%Top 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.5 minBottom 24%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.3%Top 35%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year64.7%18th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentClay County, FL’s figureJuly 2026107,526Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Clay County, FL’s figureJuly 2026−2.8%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Clay County, FL’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceClay County, FL’s figureJuly 2026113,04658th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year76.2%Bottom 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageJacksonville, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,700Bottom 34%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageJacksonville, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,830Bottom 30%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Clay County, FL’s figureJuly 2026+0.6%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateClay County, FL’s figureJuly 20264.9%Bottom 29%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.7%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202475k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $75,142 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Jacksonville, FL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons22,390$34,360
Fast Food and Counter Workers21,480$28,470
Registered Nurses18,940$83,520
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand17,350$41,040
Customer Service Representatives17,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers16,870$100,870

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Clay County, FL, which contains this city.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Clay County, FL, which contains Green Cove Springs, rather than for Green Cove Springs alone.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Clay County, FL, which contains Green Cove Springs, rather than for Green Cove Springs alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
15.2
Math proficiency
64.1%
Top 28% in Florida
Reading proficiency
62.2%
Top 26% in Florida

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Clay County, FL: too few schools in Green Cove Springs reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 99.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 0.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,698 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.73% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,630, some 46% above the $1,114 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,630 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $65,200 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $75,142.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,114 a month.

A median home at $371,000 costs 4.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $90,433, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
99.6

Prices here run at about the national average. Where places do differ, housing drives most of it — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
22.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,630
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,114
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$371,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Green Cove Springs’s median household income of $75,142, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Jacksonville, FL Metro Area’s figure202399.6Top 42%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.1%8th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.5%43rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+109.8%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±12024 ACS 5-Year4.1Bottom 16%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year65.0%28th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2762024 ACS 5-Year3,79486th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,360Top 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,010Top 42%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,630Top 47%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$4422024 ACS 5-Year$1,114Bottom 38%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$64,7642024 ACS 5-Year$371,00080th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$5022024 ACS 5-Year$2,69869th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$25,8612024 ACS 5-Year$90,433Top 36%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.19%2024 ACS 5-Year0.73%31st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year22.5%Top 22%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±612024 ACS 5-Year5483rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%65th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%42nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1492024 ACS 5-Year26282nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

75/ 100
Top 9% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 10,087 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 126 units authorized in 2025, against 18 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 167 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Clay County, which contains Green Cove Springs, gained about 1.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $65,075, above the $61,212 of households that moved out.

At 16.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
167
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
16.6
Top 4% nationally
Year over year
+92%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202410k10k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
39%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,075
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$61,212
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Duval County, FL 6,609 people · 35% of arrivals
  2. St. Johns County, FL 805 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  3. Broward County, FL 341 people · 1.8% of arrivals
  4. Putnam County, FL 291 people · 1.5% of arrivals
  5. Alachua County, FL 265 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Duval County, FL 5,034 people · 33% of departures
  2. St. Johns County, FL 742 people · 4.8% of departures
  3. Bradford County, FL 378 people · 2.5% of departures
  4. Putnam County, FL 352 people · 2.3% of departures
  5. Alachua County, FL 228 people · 1.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Clay County, FL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202512618
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+80%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 47°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.6 inches.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JACKSONVILLE NAS, 17.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

34 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 59% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingElevated
WildfireModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, tornado, heat wave, earthquake, coastal flooding, strong wind, landslide, drought, winter weather, hail, ice storm, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
345
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
956
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Green Cove Springs's police department reported 345 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 956.

Clay County records 4.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.8 per 100,000 residents in Clay County.

Homicide
4.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
13.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Green Cove Springs’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Green Cove Springs (Clay County) rather than Green Cove Springs itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest St Augustine at 21 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year92.4%Top 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle21 miBottom 43%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
St AugustineSGJ21 mi8,001 ft
Jacksonville IntlJAX35 mi10,000 ft
Lake City GatewayLCQ55 mi8,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
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—

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Other cities in Jacksonville, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
JacksonvilleDuval County977,67055Jacksonville vs Green Cove Springs
Fruit CoveSt. Johns County35,87764Fruit Cove vs Green Cove Springs
LakesideClay County32,10558Lakeside vs Green Cove Springs
Oakleaf PlantationClay County32,07060
Fleming IslandClay County29,76661
NocateeSt. Johns County27,44264
World Golf VillageSt. Johns County26,07761
Jacksonville BeachDuval County23,65464
Palm ValleySt. Johns County19,79661
YuleeNassau County16,64862
St. AugustineSt. Johns County15,35157
Bellair-Meadowbrook TerraceClay County14,75554

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Green Cove Springs side by side with a similar place.

Green Cove Springs vs MiltonGreen Cove Springs vs Pace

Moving to Green Cove Springs from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.