Sell Your Commercial Property Fast In Jacksonville, FL

Who rents in Jacksonville

Jacksonville had an estimated 977,670 residents in the 2020–2024 American Community Survey, living in 394,370 occupied homes. Of those, 167,316 were renter-occupied, a 42.4% share, and the city's median household income was $69,872. Duval County looks almost identical, at 41.8% renters and a $1,475 median rent, because the consolidated city covers nearly the whole county. Only the three beach cities and Baldwin sit outside it.

That size shapes where renters live. Arlington and the Southside, east of the St. Johns River, hold much of the city's garden apartment stock along office and retail corridors. The Westside sits closer to NAS Jacksonville and the industrial and distribution sites along the interstates. Orange Park, just across the Clay County line, draws renters who work at the air station or commute up U.S. 17. Our Jacksonville demand drivers post covers the employer map in more detail.

The military is the steadiest piece. The Navy describes NAS Jacksonville as one of the region's largest employers, with an economic impact above $2 billion a year. It hosts seven P-8A/P-3C squadrons, three reserve squadrons, five helicopter squadrons and more than 114 tenant organizations, including Fleet Readiness Center Southeast and Naval Hospital Jacksonville. Naval Station Mayport adds a second, ship-based population on the east side. Military households rotate on orders, which suits renting over buying.

The port is the other large payroll. A 2024 Martin Associates study for JAXPORT counted 30,764 cargo-related jobs in the Jacksonville area and put the average annual salary of those jobs at $76,706. Warehouse and trucking workers on the Northside and Westside are a core tenant base for workforce-priced buildings.

Rents and affordability

Median gross rent in Jacksonville was $1,465 over 2020–2024. That is below the city medians in Orlando and Tampa, $1,747 and $1,701, but local incomes are lower too. Of the city's renter households, 53.5% spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 26.4% spend half or more. Owners with lower-income tenants carry more collection and turnover risk when renewal increases outrun wages.

Asking rents on professionally managed properties have been flat. Yardi Matrix put the metro's average advertised rent at $1,523 in its September 2026 report, up 0.4% over the trailing three months. HUD's fair market rents, which set the ceiling for most voucher tenancies, are below the Orlando and Tampa figures at every size:

Source: HUD FY2026 FMR schedule. FY2027 figures took effect October 1, 2026, so check the current year before pricing a voucher-heavy rent roll.

The apartment stock

Jacksonville has 430,825 housing units, and ACS table B25024 shows 106,621 of them, or 24.7%, in buildings with five or more units. The breakdown leans toward mid-size buildings: 21,916 units are in 5–9 unit buildings, 34,780 in 10–19 unit buildings, 20,766 in 20–49 unit buildings and 29,159 in complexes of 50 or more. The 10–19 unit band is the largest, which fits the walk-up garden buildings common in Arlington and on the Westside.

The median home in the city was built in 1987. Per table B25034, 39.6% of units predate 1980, while 15.4% were built in 2010 or later. Older buildings typically need roofs, cast-iron drain lines, electrical panels or windows, and buyers will want those items documented.

New supply

The metro is still absorbing a construction wave. Yardi Matrix counted 5,541 units under construction and 1,083 completions through July 2026. Stabilized occupancy was 92.5% in June, 70 basis points lower than a year earlier. New communities in lease-up tend to offer concessions, which pull renters from older Class B buildings nearby. Investment sales have slowed sharply, totaling $205 million through July, 55% below the same period of 2025.

Future affordable supply may come through the state's Live Local Act. Under s. 196.1978, newly built projects with more than 70 units set aside for income-qualified households can exempt those units from property tax, fully at or below 80% of area median income and 75% for 80–120%. Rents on those units are capped at the lower of the program chart or 90% of market. Such projects compete mainly for workforce renters, the same tenants many older Jacksonville buildings serve.

Jobs are a watch point. Yardi reported metro employment down 0.5% in the year to May 2026, about 3,000 jobs, with education and health services adding 3,500. The metro unemployment rate was 4.8% in June. Johnson & Johnson's announced $1 billion Vision expansion, including a distribution facility of roughly one million square feet, is one of the larger new commitments.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Duval County

The Duval County Property Appraiser values every parcel at just value as of January 1. For apartment buildings of 10 or more units, s. 193.1555 caps the annual rise in assessed value at 10% for all levies except school taxes. Buildings of two to nine units get the same treatment under s. 193.1554. The appraiser's 2026 TRIM newsletter confirms non-homestead property remains under the 10% cap. Both caps reset to full just value after a change of ownership, so a long-held building's tax bill usually rises after a sale.

Rates depend on the taxing district. The 2025 final millage chart shows 17.7412 mills for USD1, the old City of Jacksonville, of which 6.3430 were school mills and 11.1919 general government. The beach cities ran 17.2004 in Atlantic Beach, 17.8161 in Neptune Beach and 18.4452 in Jacksonville Beach, and Baldwin was 18.9701. Owners who disagree with a value can petition the Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of the TRIM notice under s. 194.011; the 2026 deadline in Duval was September 8.

On a sale, Florida charges documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 of consideration under s. 201.02. The extra county surtax under s. 201.031 applies only in Miami-Dade, so Duval sellers pay the base rate.

Landlord rules and local compliance

Jacksonville cannot cap rents. Section 166.043 bars cities from adopting any measure that would control rents, apart from land-use tools that add affordable supply. Since 2023, s. 83.425 also preempts local regulation of residential tenancies, so screening, deposits, fees and notice rules come only from Chapter 83.

The key state rules: no cap on security deposits, but a landlord must return the deposit within 15 days or send written notice of a claim within 30 days under s. 83.49. A nonpayment notice gives three days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, under s. 83.56. Month-to-month tenancies need 30 days' notice under s. 83.57. Leases longer than six months are exempt from sales tax per the Florida Department of Revenue, so only short-term units carry it. A buyer will ask for deposit ledgers that match these rules.

What this means if you own a building here

Three numbers frame a Jacksonville sale: in-place rents near the $1,465 city median, occupancy in the low 90s while new supply leases up, and a tax bill that will reset when the deed records. A buyer will rebuild your expenses using the purchase price times the local millage, so a building held for many years can show lower net operating income in the buyer's model than on your own statements. Insurance quotes and roof age often move the price as much as rent does.

Before talking to buyers, gather the last TRIM notice, a current rent roll with deposits, and roof, plumbing and electrical ages. Our cap rate calculator shows how expense changes move value. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings across Duval County, listed or off-market, and our seller page explains how we underwrite.