Jacksonville, FL Home Loans

NAS Jacksonville is home to seven active-duty patrol squadrons that fly the P-8A Poseidon, three Reserve squadrons, five helicopter squadrons and one MQ-4C Triton squadron. Naval Station Mayport calls itself the third largest Fleet Concentration Area in the United States. The buyers on this page are the sailors, civilians and families assigned here on PCS orders.

Service members can qualify for a VA loan after 90 continuous days of service, and Selected Reserve members after six creditable years while still serving, among other paths. Your Certificate of Eligibility shows the entitlement you have to work with, and our team can help you request it. Debbie Haberny leads our team and is a Vetted VA Professional, so whether you are weighing Orange Park against the beaches or a house near the Yorktown Gate, your VA loan questions go to the people who arrange the loan.

Jacksonville

The City of Jacksonville is consolidated with Duval County, with 1,017,689 people in the July 2025 estimate and 747.29 square miles of land. The Census lists a median owner-occupied home value of $293,700, 57.6 percent of homes owner-occupied and a mean commute of 24.1 minutes in the 2020-2024 estimates. The city’s Military Affairs and Veterans Department, in City Hall, offers free help with VA claims, jobs, housing and legal questions. Without traffic it is about 19 minutes from NAS Jacksonville’s gates and 31 from Mayport’s Main Gate.

Mandarin

Mandarin is a Jacksonville community on the St. Johns River, home to the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society at 11964 Mandarin Road. Duval lists Mandarin Oaks Elementary and Mandarin Middle among its Purple Star Schools of Distinction. Without traffic it is about 18 to 20 minutes from NAS Jacksonville’s gates and about 45 from Mayport.

Fleming Island

Fleming Island is a Clay County census-designated place with 29,142 people in the 2020 Census, up from 27,126 in 2010. The Census lists a median owner-occupied home value of $422,400, 85.3 percent of homes owner-occupied and a mean commute of 30.0 minutes. Fleming Island Elementary and Fleming Island High are among the six Clay schools the school board recognized as Purple Star Schools of Distinction in February 2026. Without traffic Fleming Island High School is about 18 to 20 minutes from NAS Jacksonville’s gates.

Oakleaf

Oakleaf Plantation is a Clay County census-designated place that grew from 20,315 people in 2010 to 31,034 in 2020. The Census lists a median owner-occupied home value of $351,200, 81.6 percent of homes owner-occupied and a mean commute of 32.3 minutes. Without traffic Oakleaf Junior High School, on Plantation Oaks Boulevard in the community, is about 24 to 25 minutes from NAS Jacksonville’s gates and about 62 from Mayport, past the commute radius.

Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville Beach is its own city of 23,615 people (July 2025 estimate), with city hall at 11 North Third Street. The Census lists a median owner-occupied home value of $575,800, 68.8 percent of homes owner-occupied and a median gross rent of $1,848. The city says four public schools sit within its limits. Without traffic it is about 15 minutes from Mayport’s Main Gate and 41 to 42 from NAS Jacksonville.

Neptune Beach

Neptune Beach describes itself as a small coastal community between Atlantic Beach and Jacksonville Beach, with 7,020 people in the July 2025 estimate. The Census lists a median owner-occupied home value of $670,900 and 73.1 percent of homes owner-occupied. Neptune Beach Elementary is a Purple Star School of Distinction. Without traffic it is about 10 minutes from Mayport’s Main Gate and 44 to 45 from NAS Jacksonville.

In the 2020-2024 Census estimates, the median value of owner-occupied homes was $303,500 in Duval County, $293,700 in the City of Jacksonville and $312,500 in Clay County. Smaller places differ from those county medians: $630,200 in Atlantic Beach, $670,900 in Neptune Beach, $575,800 in Jacksonville Beach, $313,100 in Orange Park, $422,400 on Fleming Island and $351,200 in Oakleaf Plantation.

About 58 percent of Duval County homes are owner-occupied, against 75.9 percent in Clay County. Oakleaf Plantation went from 20,315 people in 2010 to 31,034 in 2020. Medians hide a lot, so ask us or your real estate agent which recent sales match the street you have in mind.

Schools. Duval County Public Schools serves Jacksonville and the beach cities, and Clay County District Schools serves Orange Park, Fleming Island and Oakleaf. Duval is a choice district: once enrolled, a family can apply for a magnet program or a school outside the attendance zone. Florida’s Purple Star Campus program recognizes schools with a military liaison, a web page for military families and a student-led transition program. Duval’s 2025-2026 Purple Star Schools of Distinction include Mayport Coastal Sciences Elementary and Middle and Mandarin Middle. Clay’s board recognized six schools on February 5, 2026, among them Fleming Island Elementary and High. Attendance zones can cross city lines, so ask the district to confirm the school for a specific address.

Base Gates. NAS Jacksonville’s Yorktown Gate is open 24 hours a day, and its Birmingham Gate 5 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays. Mayport’s Main Gate on Mayport Road is open 24 hours a day. Each base opens extra inbound lanes in the morning: Yorktown 4 to 8:30 a.m., Birmingham 5 to 8:30 a.m. and Mayport 5:30 to 9 a.m.. Visitors need a pass from the base’s Visitor Control Center and a government photo ID.

Drive Times. Typical drive without traffic, measured October 7, 2026 (OpenStreetMap routing), starting at a central point in each place: Orange Park is about 10 minutes from NAS Jacksonville’s Yorktown Gate, downtown Jacksonville 19, Mandarin and Fleming Island 20 and Oakleaf 25. To Mayport’s Main Gate, Atlantic Beach is about 8 minutes, Neptune Beach 10, Jacksonville Beach 15 and downtown Jacksonville 31. The beach cities are a longer drive to the air station, 41 to 45 minutes, and Orange Park, Fleming Island and Oakleaf are past the 45-minute radius from Mayport.

Rent in Duval County had a median gross figure of $1,475 a month in the 2020-2024 Census estimates, against $1,551 in Clay County. The beach cities ran higher: $2,159 in Atlantic Beach, $1,848 in Jacksonville Beach and $1,763 in Neptune Beach. Basic Allowance for Housing is set by duty station, and its amounts change every year, so allowance figures stay off this page. When your own numbers are in hand, ask us to line up what each part of Jacksonville could mean for your budget.

County Loan Limits. VA sets no cap on the loan amount for a veteran with full entitlement, though we still approve the amount based on your income, debts and assets, and the largest VA loan on a property is the lower of the appraised value or the purchase price. County limits matter when you have only partial entitlement, for example because an earlier VA loan still uses some of it. For 2026, FHFA’s one-unit limit is $832,750 in Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties. FHFA publishes new figures every year, so check before you sign a contract.

Flood and Wind Insurance. Duval County has coastal, inland and river flooding, most often from June to November, according to the City of Jacksonville. Homeowner policies do not cover flood damage, and a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy has a 30-day waiting period, so ask early. For wind, Florida law has insurers offer hurricane deductible choices of $500 or 2, 5 or 10 percent of the dwelling coverage, kept apart from the regular deductible. A licensed inspector’s Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form lets insurers apply premium discounts for wind protection.

Property Taxes. Florida’s homestead exemption takes $25,000 off the assessed value of a home you own and live in on January 1, and Save Our Homes limits yearly assessment increases to 3 percent or less, but a sale resets the assessed value to market value, so a seller’s tax bill is not yours. Veterans have three more options: a discount for veterans 65 and older with a combat-related disability, a $5,000 exemption for a disability of at least 10 percent, and a full homestead exemption for a total and permanent service-connected disability. Applications are due March 1.

Community Development Districts and HOAs. A newer Florida subdivision may sit inside a Community Development District, a local government whose board sets yearly assessments for certain public facilities and services, which can be collected on the property tax bill like county taxes. Ask the builder or seller for the current assessment and the HOA dues before you write an offer, because both count toward the monthly payment we can approve. Your real estate agent can help you gather those figures, along with the flood zone and school zone for each address.

Ask for your command sponsor early. NAS Jacksonville’s Base Information page gives a contact for sponsor questions from newly assigned personnel, and Mayport’s contact page names a command sponsorship contact for newly reporting Sailors. The Fleet and Family Support Centers offer relocation assistance, and the Navy Housing service centers help sailors find suitable housing.

Bringing children of school age? Duval County Public Schools has a Military Transition Team that starts working with families months before the move, and Clay County District Schools keeps a Military Services page with student-led transition programs. The state is a party to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

If you already own a Duval County home and receive orders, send a copy to the Property Appraiser’s Exemptions office when you plan to keep it as your Florida residence; state law lets service members rent the home without losing the homestead exemption. If you will be buying, line up your Certificate of Eligibility and a pre-approval before you fly in to look at homes.

On base, Navy Housing offers family homes through private partners: Balfour Beatty Communities runs NAS Jacksonville Homes from 960 Ballard Street, and NS Mayport Homes serves Mayport, with an off-base leasing office at the Ribault Bay Community Center in Atlantic Beach. Each base’s Navy Housing page also lists unaccompanied housing for single sailors.

Off base, the Jacksonville area spans the city itself, beach towns near Mayport and newer subdivisions across the county line in Clay County. The drive times and profiles above show how far each area sits from each gate and describe the places we looked at. Both bases publish a contact for noise complaints, so ask your real estate agent about flight paths before you commit to a home near either airfield.