FruitCoveChurch, 2012
Fruit Cove’s story
149 years in pictures
Census counts: 5,904 in 1990, 32,143 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1917 on.
- 1877Fruit Cove is settled
Fruit CoveFL
A town of 35,877, settled in 1877. Public schools that outperform most of Florida.
1 bordering townMap →
Photo: Excel23 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
35,877
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$484K
Census ACS
Household income
$142K
median
Median age
41.3
years
Jobs based here
4,478
A commuter town
TownGrade
A−
#7 of 634 in FL
Is Fruit Cove a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fruit Cove grades A− overall, 7th among Florida's 634 graded towns. Its schools rank ahead of 96% of Florida towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country and the median household earns $142K. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $484K, 6.1 years of the Jacksonville metro’s $80K median household income. Fruit Cove’s median household income is $142,000, where Florida’s towns sit at $73,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. The biggest park or preserve is Alpine Groves Park, at 56 acres.
What makes Fruit Cove stand out
Where Fruit Cove beats most towns.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Fruit Cove for work
Where Fruit Cove’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
4,478jobs based in Fruit Cove
4%of working residents work in town
14 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Fruit Cove grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Fruit Cove is from typical.
SchoolsA+Open →HealthAscension St. Vincent's St. Johns County 2.6 miles awayAOpen →Jobs & incomeAOpen →Cost of livingC−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7 of 20; 2.3% of households have no car; 0.7% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
ClimateMild winters, 92° summer afternoons–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 41.3; 54% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 55 attractions →EverBank Field and 39 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fruit Cove. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaEverBank Field
23 mi National MonumentCastillo de San Marcos National Monument598K visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaVyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
21 mi National MemorialFort Caroline National Memorial369K visitors a year
16 mi MuseumUSS Orleck
21 mi State parkFort Mose Historic State ParkSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
EverBank Field: AndrewAvitus, CC BY 3.0 · Castillo de San Marcos National Monument: National Park Service, Public domain · VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena: Nichos (talk), Public domain · Fort Caroline National Memorial: NPS Photo, Public domain · USS Orleck: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Fort Mose Historic State Park: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Getting set up
Moving to Fruit Cove: who provides what
Fruit Cove is unincorporated, so St. Johns County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerFPL14.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterJea Major Grid water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesSt. Johns CountySt. Johns County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Florida you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSt. Johns Supervisor of ElectionsSt. Johns County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2023
ZIP code3225932259 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fruit Cove.
Fruit Cove has schools in the top 5% of Florida, has less food insecurity than most of Florida and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Florida.
SchoolsA+
Fruit Cove’s grade for schools is an A+
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 638 Florida towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $484K.
Its public schools are run by the St. Johns school district. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
96%of FL districts it outscoresA+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland Point Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,282 | A |
| Durbin Creek Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,090 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
HealthA
Fruit Cove stands out in Florida and nationally, with fewer of its adults who get no exercise outside work
Its widest gap with Florida is food insecurity: 7.3% of its 23,893 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.8% statewide.
16% of adults get no exercise outside work in Fruit Cove. Fruit Cove beats the Florida average on 20 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Fruit Cove.
95%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Fruit Cove | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 20% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
31 measures vs. Florida
20 better11 too close to call0 worse
| What stands out | Fruit Cove | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 16.8% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.3% | 15.9% |
Ascension St. Vincent's St. Johns County
2.6 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
98th
percentile among FL towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
A smaller share of residents in Fruit Cove live below the poverty line than in the typical Florida or U.S. town
Jobs based here grew from 3,084 in 2013 to 4,478. 28.7% of workers work from home, against 15.7% across Florida.
2.7% of Fruit Cove residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Fruit Cove grew to 4,478 in 2023, 1,394 more than in 2013. 29% of Fruit Cove workers work from home.
4%work in town
| Fruit Cove | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 29% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Fruit Cove4%
Jacksonville52%
St. Augustine6%
Palm Valley1%
Tampa1%
14 mi
median commute distance
4,478
jobs based in Fruit Cove
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
In Fruit Cove, expect mild winters and hot summers
January nights average 44.7°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 78% of Florida places with climate records; July afternoons average 91.6°.
Fruit Cove has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Fruit Cove is 45°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
92°summer high
| Fruit Cove | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 45°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
Winter47–68°
Spring58–80°
Summer72–91°
Fall62–81°
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
92°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Fruit Cove
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 64 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fruit Cove.
62risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesTornadoes
64
paid flood claims since 1979
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
OutdoorsC−
Fruit Cove has set aside 0.9% of its land for conservation
Just 111 of its 11,792 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Fruit Cove itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.8 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves.
0.9%conserved
0.9%
conserved · 111 of 11,792 acres
0.8 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Alpine Groves Park | 0.1 mi | 56 |
| 2. Mills Field Park | — | 27 |
| 3. Julington Creek Plantation Park | — | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HousingCost of living grade C−
Homes in Fruit Cove sell for about $535K
Fruit Cove’s median rent is $2,336 a month.
$535Kmedian sale price
| Fruit Cove | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,336 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 87% | 72% | 73% |
Market temperature
42
days on market
98.5%
sale-to-list price
43
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Fruit Cove
17pages on Fruit Cove
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Fruit Cove
Jones Technical InstituteCommunity college · Private nonprofit · Jacksonville8.5 mi$16,920 tuitionChamberlain University-FloridaUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Jacksonville10.3 mi$19,975 tuitionUniversity of North FloridaUniversity or college · Public · Jacksonville13.8 mi$6,389 in-state tuition
About 7 of every 100 Fruit Cove residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
About Fruit Cove
CDP in Florida, United States
Fruit Cove is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. It is located in the community of St. Johns. The population was 32,143 at the 2020 census, up from 29,362 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 19 sq mi
- Elevation
- 10 ft
- Area code
- 904
Fruit Cove’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Fruit Cove.
JacksonvilleFruit Cove
How the neighbors grade
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit Cove | #7 | A− | C− | — | A+ | A |
| Jacksonville | #437 | C− | C | — | C+ | C+ |
Fruit Cove and Jacksonville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fruit Cove with a neighbor →
Questions about Fruit Cove
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fruit Cove, FL a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fruit Cove grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #7 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Fruit Cove, FL expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.