Living in Baldwin, Florida: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.5% below the U.S. average in the Jacksonville metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Baldwin to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Baldwin itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byEd Fraser Memorial Hospital in Macclenny, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 19 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Baldwin meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $180,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 9.2%Duval County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $545 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,226 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 99.5U.S. average = 100 (the Jacksonville metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Jacksonville metro area, not Baldwin alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,3942020: 1,407
Median age: 41.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (20%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (18%); retail (16%)
Average commute: 27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital, Macclenny, FL, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Baldwin, run by Duval.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 88%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 41°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 101 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 24 a year
Rain and melted snow: 53.2 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 83 feet

Weather stations: Jackson Whitehouse Nolf (6 miles away) and Glen St Mary 1 W (13 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Ed Fraser Memorial HospitalEmergency room9

Jacksonville, FLMetro of 1.8 million19

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital, Jacksonville.

Duval County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve24 miles
Fort Caroline National Memorial29 miles
Cumberland Island National Seashore38 miles
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument49 miles
Fort Matanzas National Monument60 miles

Read about Baldwin's history on Wikipedia.

Know Baldwin?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Macclenny, FL8,300 people, 9 miles
Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace, FL14,800 people, 17 miles
Nassau Village-Ratliff, FL4,700 people, 17 miles
Middleburg, FL11,600 people, 18 miles
Orange Park, FL9,000 people, 19 miles
Callahan, FL1,800 people, 20 miles

Smaller places

Glen St. Mary, FL510 people, 11 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.