Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,995, settled in 1910. A regional job hub with 2,255 jobs.
Trash & recyclingPort St. Joe grades D overall, 577th among Florida's 634 graded towns, mostly because of incomes. The median household income is $56K, and 10% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: 2% of its land is conserved. 33% of working residents work locally in Port St. Joe, where Florida’s towns sit at 5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 15 of Florida’s 779 towns score lower on hazard risk. Homes are expensive, about $472K for a typical one and 7.7 times the county’s $61K median household income.
Where Port St. Joe beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Port St. Joe’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Port St. Joe is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 851 in 1930, 3,357 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1943 and 2 maps from 1943 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Port St. Joe, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Port St. Joe.
Port St. Joe draws workers from Wewahitchka and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
2,255 jobs are based in Port St. Joe, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.6 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
About one in 3 of Port St. Port St. Joe’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. Jobs based in Port St. Joe grew to 2,255 in 2023, 340 more than in 2013.
| Port St. Joe | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Gulf school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Port ST. Joe High School, with 575 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port ST. Joe Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 428 | B |
| Port ST. Joe High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 575 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
487 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 28 properties have flooded more than once.
The FEMA risk score in Port St. Joe is 97 of 100. Since 1985, 487 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Port St. Joe.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Port St. Joe | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Constitution Convention Museum State Park | 0.2 mi | 13 |
| 2. George Core Park | 0.1 mi | 9 |
| 3. Frank Pate Park | 0.1 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.7 years of the county’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $472K) costs more against local pay than in 88% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The typical value, about $472K, is 9% below its March 2024 peak.
The typical Port St. 82% of households own their home in Port St. Joe. Joe home is worth about $472,000, down 1.8% in a year, 26% above the Florida typical home.
| Port St. Joe | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,433 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 18 to 34 are 11% of residents (21% statewide); people 65 and older are 30% of residents (21% statewide). Port St. Joe has grown 19% since 2020, to 3,995 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 36% of Port St. Joe adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Port St. Joe | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 56 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 31% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 80% are women (FL 49%).
| Port St. Joe | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.2% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.4% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 22.2% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.8% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.8% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.3% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.3% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.4% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.4% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.4% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.2% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,000, single groups can be off by several points
The Apalachicola Airport weather station, 18 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 299 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 77% of Florida places with climate records. The Apalachicola Airport weather station, 18 miles away, records that about 74 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 93% of Florida places with climate records.
Joe has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 44° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 7,594 U.S. towns with household incomes like Port St. Joe’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with Florida is no health insurance: 9.9% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 15.9% statewide.
Joe beats the Florida average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Port St. Joe | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Port St. Joe | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.9% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.7% | 16.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Port St. Joe; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Port St. Joe residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
4 places in Port St. Joe on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Port St. Joe.
City in Florida, United States
Port St. Joe or Port Saint Joe is a city and the county seat of Gulf County, Florida, United States. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 71. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,357.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Port St. Joe grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #577 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
Port St. 4 notable people were born here, including Calvin Pryor and Roman Quinn.
