Featured Apartment:
Jacksonville - 1 bedroom - 1 bath - spacious, clean & sunny unit! - Brick Building - Hardwood Floors - Modern Kitchen - Spacious Living Room - Large Bedroom w/ Double Sliding Door Closet - Updated Bathroom - Off Street Parking - access to commuter rail, bus, shops & restaurants, first and last months rent (NO SECURITY DEPOSIT) View More Listings -->
Jacksonville is the most populous city in the state of Florida and the
thirteenth most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of
Duval County.GR6 Since 1968, the city has shared a consolidated government with
the county, making it the largest city in land area in the contiguous United
States. In 2006, the city proper had an estimated population of 834,789 with a
metropolitan population of more than 1.3 million. Jacksonville is the third
most populated city on the East Coast, after New York City and Philadelphia.
Jacksonville is located in the First Coast region of northeast Florida. The city
is situated on the banks of the St. Johns River, which flows north and empties
into the Atlantic Ocean about 20 miles east of downtown. The settlement that
became Jacksonville was founded in 1791 as Cowford due to its location at a
narrow point in the river where cattle were once driven across. The city was
renamed in 1822 for Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida
Territory and eventual seventh President of the United States.
As the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States, Jacksonville
is informally divided into four major sections; Southside, which refers to
everything south of the Arlington Expressway and between the St. Johns River and
the Intracoastal Waterway; Northside, which is generally considered to be
everything north of the St. Johns and east of New Kings Road; and Westside,
which consists of everything west of the St. Johns River and south of New Kings
Rd. Arlington, is bordered on the west and north by the St. John's River and to
the east by the Intracoastal Waterway, south by the Arlington Expressway. (There
is also a distinct part of the city known as "Eastside" which those unfamiliar
with Jacksonville's overall geography sometimes mistakenly regard as one of the
major divisions of town, rather than the localized neighborhood which it is.
Additionally, with the rapid growth in the eastern parts of Duval County, the
Intracoastal/Beaches area has emerged as a major section as well, but is not
generally included in a Jacksonville list, since the Beaches communities lie
outside of the Jacksonville city limits.) Each of these sections is divided into
many neighborhoods.
Cities outside of Jacksonville proper, yet in the surrounding Greater
Jacksonville Metropolitan area include Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach,
Neptune Beach, and Baldwin, all within Duval County. Additionally, in Nassau
County are Callahan, Fernandina Beach, Hilliard, and Yulee. St. Johns County
contains the suburbs of Fruit Cove, Switzerland, Ponte Vedra Beach, Hastings,
and St. Augustine. Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Middleburg, Orange
Park, and Penney Farms are all found in Clay County. Even farther outlying, but
still included within the "First Coast" region (thus, sometimes considered part
of Jacksonville's metropolitan area), are and Glen St. Mary and Macclenny in
Baker County.
Jacksonville, along with the standard district schools, is home to three
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme ("IB") high schools. They are
Stanton College Preparatory School, Paxon School for Advanced Studies, and Jean
Ribault Senior High School. Jacksonville also has a notable magnet high school
devoted to the performing and expressive arts, Douglas Anderson School of the
Arts. See also: List of high schools in Jacksonville
Jacksonville is home to Jacksonville University, the University of North
Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, Edward Waters College, Art
Institute of Jacksonville, Florida Coastal School of Law, Trinity Baptist
College, Jones College, Florida Technical College, Logos Christian College, and
Brewer Christian College.
Former mayor John Delaney has been president of the University of North Florida
since leaving office in July 2003, parlaying his widespread popularity in the
city into a position of leadership in the state university system.
Jacksonville has a humid subtropical climate, with mild weather during winters
and hot weather during summers. High temperatures average 64 to 91 F (18-33 C)
throughout the year. High heat indices are not uncommon for the summer months
in the Jacksonville area. High temperatures can reach mid to high 90s with heat
index ranges of 105-115 F. The highest temperature ever recorded in
Jacksonville was 105 F (43 C) on July 21, 1942. It is common for daily
thunderstorms to erupt during a standard summer afternoon. These are caused by
the heating of the land and water, combined with extremely high humidity.
Conversely, the area can experience freezes and hard freezes during the night at
winter's peak. Occasionally, very cold weather can occur, although it is usually
short lived. The coldest temperature recorded in Jacksonville was 7 F (-14 C)
on January 21, 1985, a day that most locations in the eastern half of the US
remember as the coldest day ever. Very seldom, the area will see snow, though
when this happens the snow will usually melt before it touches the ground.
Jacksonville has suffered less damage from hurricanes than other east coast
cities; while the city has only received one direct hit from a hurricane since
1871, Jacksonville has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more
than a dozen times due to storms passing through the state from the Gulf of
Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The strongest effect on Jacksonville was from
Hurricane Dora in 1964, the only recorded storm to hit the First Coast with
sustained hurricane force winds. The eye crossed St. Augustine, with winds that
had just barely diminished to 110 mph, making it a strong Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
Rainfall averages around 52 inches a year, with the wettest months being June
through September.
As of the census estimates of 2005, there were 782,623 people, 284,499
households, and 190,614 families residing in the city. The population density
was 374.9/km (970.9/mi). There were 308,826 housing units at an average
density of 157.4/km (407.6/mi). The racial makeup of the city was 64.48%
White, 34.03% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.78% Asian,
0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.33% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more
races. 4.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Jacksonville
has, as named by the census the 10th largest Arab population in the United
States. There were 284,499 households out of which 33.9% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 16.0%
had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families.
26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living
alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and
the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out
with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 21.0%
from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age
18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,316, and the median income
for a family was $47,243. Males had a median income of $32,547 versus $25,886
for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,337. About 9.4% of
families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including
16.7% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the United States,
providing services at more than 337 locations on more than 80,000 acres (320
km) located throughout the city. Jacksonville gathers significant natural
beauty from the St. Johns River and Atlantic Ocean. The Jacksonville Beaches
area is a center of recreation and nightlife, and the many parks around the city
have received international recognition. The city center includes the
Jacksonville Landing shopping center and the Riverwalk. Downtown Jacksonville
has a memorable skyline with the tallest building being the Bank of America
Building, constructed in 1990 with a height of 617 ft (188 m). Other notable
structures include the Modis Building (once the defining building in the
Jacksonville skyline), originally built in 1972-74 by the Independent Life and
Accident Insurance Company with its distinctive flared base, and the Riverplace
Tower, which is the tallest precast, post-tensioned concrete structure in the
world.
The Jacksonville Zoological Gardens boast the second largest animal collection
in the state. The zoo features elephants, lions, jaguars (with an exhibit, Range
of the Jaguar, hosted by the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Delores and
Wayne Weaver), a multitude of reptile houses, free flight aviaries, and many
other animals.