This week I wanted to look at the big question: why do so many people keep choosing to move to Jacksonville, and what does that actually mean for what your home is worth?
How Many People Are Actually Moving to Jacksonville?
A lot, though the pace has cooled from its peak. Jacksonville added roughly 25,000 to 30,000 net new residents a year between 2020 and 2024, and while that number has slowed to somewhere in the 18,000 to 22,000 range this year, it's still positive, and still enough to keep Jacksonville ranked among the top 10 net-migration metros in the country for five straight years running. Duval County's population now sits at just over 1,071,000.
The top states people are leaving to move here: New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, and, notably, other parts of Florida. That last one matters. Plenty of our new residents aren't fleeing another state, they're leaving South Florida or other pricier parts of the state for something more affordable without leaving Florida altogether.
Why Are People Choosing Jacksonville?
This isn't a pandemic hangover anymore. The drivers behind this move have gotten more durable, not less:
- No state income tax, paired with a cost of living that still beats most of the places people are moving from.
- A genuinely diversified job market. Healthcare and construction alone are projected to drive more than half of Jacksonville's economic growth over the next decade, anchored by employers like Mayo Clinic, Baptist Health, and Florida Blue.
- A logistics and shipping economy built around the port, with companies like CSX and Crowley Maritime headquartered here.
- A steady military and defense presence, Naval Air Station Jacksonville alone employs an estimated 22,000 people, which brings a constant, predictable stream of relocating families into the market.
That combination, tax advantages, real jobs, and a strategic location, is a very different growth story than a city riding a temporary wave. It's the kind of growth that tends to stick.
What Does This Mean for Home Values?
Population growth is demand, plain and simple. Every new household that moves here needs somewhere to live, whether they're buying or renting, and that steady stream of new residents is a big part of why Jacksonville's home values have kept climbing even as the market has cooled from its pandemic-era pace. Appreciation has settled into a more sustainable 2% to 3% annually rather than the double-digit jumps we saw a few years ago, and that's a healthier number for buyers and sellers alike.
Here's the part that matters most if you're deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold: Jacksonville isn't dealing with the same oversupply problems some other Sun Belt markets are facing right now. Cities like Austin and Phoenix built aggressively during the boom and are now seeing real demand cliffs as that construction catches up with slower migration. Jacksonville's growth has been steadier and less speculative, which means the demand underneath our home values has a sturdier floor under it.
What This Means If You're Buying, Selling, or Holding
If you're selling, population growth is part of why well-priced homes in strong school zones and desirable neighborhoods are still attracting real interest, even in a more balanced market. If you're buying, it's a reason to think about Jacksonville as a longer-term hold rather than a short-term bet, the fundamentals here are coming from jobs and migration, not speculation. And if you're an investor, steady in-migration is exactly the kind of demand signal that matters more than any single month's price data.
Numbers like these are useful, but they're still averages across a big county. What they mean for your specific neighborhood, or the home you're thinking about buying or selling, is a different conversation, and one I'm glad to have with you directly.
Joy Hicks, MBA, Realtor®
REMAX Specialists
904.318.8619
hicks.joy@icloud.com
www.JoyHicksRealtor.com
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