Cost of Living in St. Augustine, Florida: The 2026 Numbers

By Jon Brooks, Co-Founder, Momentum Realty · Updated September 25, 2026

St. Augustine is in St. Johns County, Florida (ZIP codes 32092, 32084, 32095, 32080). · Homes for sale in St. Augustine · St. Johns County

Cost of living in St. Augustine, FL (2026): owning the median home — $420,000 over the last 12 months of sales — costs about $2,867 a month with 20% down at 6.95% (principal and interest $2,224, St. Johns County property tax about $415, insurance about $115 at the Citizens county average, and a typical HOA of $113). For comparison, a typical rental across the same ZIP codes runs about $2,061 a month (Zillow Observed Rent Index), so buying costs roughly $806 more per month than renting before equity and tax treatment. Florida has no state income tax; the costs that move the most between Florida cities are the home price, property tax at your purchase price, and insurance.

St. Augustine's cost of living is a tale of two St. Augustines. West of I-95, where nearly half the sales are new construction, the monthly cost to own sits close to the statewide median. On the coast and in the historic city, the same math produces a very different number.

St. Johns County's low millage is the quiet advantage: on the same purchase price, a St. Augustine buyer pays noticeably less property tax than a Jacksonville or Orlando buyer.

What it costs to own a home in St. Augustine, line by line

The median St. Augustine home sold for $420,000 over the last 12 months (2,880 closings across 378 communities), about $214 per square foot for a typical 1,948 sq ft. Here is what that home costs a new owner each month:

Two of those lines are the ones out-of-state buyers get wrong. The property tax on a listing is the seller’s capped bill; yours resets to your purchase price at closing, so the figure above is the honest first-full-year number. And the insurance line is a county average from Citizens; a real quote on a specific roof and flood zone can be far from it in either direction.

The HOA is the line to study here. Most listings carry one, and in the newer communities it sits alongside a CDD assessment that is not on the HOA statement. Add both before you compare a new build to a resale, because the builder incentive often nets out smaller once the district assessment is counted.

Is it cheaper to buy or rent in St. Augustine?

For buyers weighing the move from renting: the Zillow Observed Rent Index across the ZIP codes where St. Augustine homes sell puts a typical rent at about $2,061 a month, up 1.5% over the past year. Owning the median home costs about $2,867, so the monthly gap is roughly $806 more to own before tax treatment, maintenance and equity. Across those ZIPs the median household income is about $91,201, and the price-to-income ratio runs about 4.8.

Rents here run above Jacksonville's because the inventory of rentals is thin and the demand is steady, so the own-versus-rent gap is narrower than the home prices alone would suggest. Buyers who plan to stay more than a few years usually come out ahead owning, especially with the low county millage.

What your budget buys in St. Augustine

Three price points from 1,435 recent closings, each with what actually sold within 10% of that price and what that home costs to own:

• Around $335,000: a 3-bed, 2-bath home of about 1,648 sq ft, built around 2019 — roughly $2,322/month to own (226 sales).
• Around $420,000: a 3-bed, 2-bath home of about 1,875 sq ft, built around 2016 — roughly $2,867/month to own (284 sales).
• Around $599,000: a 4-bed, 3-bath home of about 2,486 sq ft, built around 2013 — roughly $4,016/month to own (177 sales).

Property taxes in St. Augustine

St. Johns County’s typical total millage is 13.47 mills, about 1.35% of taxable value. After the $50,000 homestead exemption the median home’s bill is about $4,983 a year. Once you homestead, Florida’s Save Our Homes cap limits assessment growth to 3% a year, which is why long-time owners pay far less than a new buyer in the same house. Full worksheet: St. Johns County property tax guide.

Home insurance in St. Augustine

Citizens Property Insurance’s average premium in St. Johns County is about $1,378 a year. Florida premiums are driven by roof age, wind-mitigation features, distance to the coast and the FEMA flood zone, which is why two houses on one street can quote thousands apart. Get a quote on the specific address before you write an offer, and order a wind-mitigation inspection on any older roof. See home insurance by county.

HOA and CDD fees in St. Augustine

75% of current St. Augustine listings carry an HOA, with a median of $113 a month where one applies. About 43% of recent sales were new construction, and most newer master-planned communities also carry a CDD assessment that appears on the tax bill rather than the HOA statement — ask for it on every home. Neither is included in the monthly figure above unless the HOA line says so.

St. Augustine compared with other Florida cities

Same method, same day, for the Florida cities we track most closely: median sale over the last 12 months and the monthly cost of owning that median home, the typical rent, and the county’s Citizens average premium.

What this page does not estimate

Groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare vary less between Florida cities than housing does and are not modeled here; national cost-of-living indices cover them reasonably well. What those indices routinely miss is Florida homeowners insurance and the property-tax reset at purchase, which is why this page is built around them.

If you want new construction near the coast with the lowest property tax in the region, St. Augustine's cost of living is very manageable. If you want the historic city, treat this page's median as a floor, not a guide.

Common questions about the cost of living in St. Augustine

Home prices and HOA figures are Momentum Realty’s MLS record of St. Augustine communities as of 2026-09-25; rent, income and price-to-income are Zillow and Census figures by ZIP code pooled over the ZIPs where St. Augustine homes sell; tax and insurance are St. Johns County figures. Estimates, not quotes. General information, not financial advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.