Is Fernandina Beach, FL a good place to live?

By Jon Brooks, Co-Founder, Momentum Realty

Data as of September 16, 2026. Figures are aggregates from licensed MLS records, IRS migration files, Zillow indexes, Census income and population, and Citizens Property Insurance; sources are named where they appear.

The short answer, by the numbers

Fernandina Beach homes sold for a median of $540,000 over the last 12 months, -1.2% year over year. Homes take about 56 days to sell and the city holds 5.4 months of supply, which reads as a balanced market. Owning the median home runs about $2,833 a month with taxes and insurance, against a median household income near $88,900 (34.1% of income). Prices sit at 5.5 times local income, a stretch by the usual four-times-income yardstick.

What it costs to live in Fernandina Beach

The cost-to-own figure is principal and interest at today’s prevailing 30-year rate with a 20% down payment, plus the county’s median tax bill and a typical insurance premium. Your own number moves with the rate you lock and the home’s flood zone and roof.

How Fernandina Beach home prices have moved

Appreciation has run -0.4% over the last year, +4.6% a year over five years, +7.0% a year over ten. The median went from $325,529 in 2017 to $540,000 over the last 12 months, +66% in 9 years.

The Fernandina Beach market right now

By price band, where the supply and the waiting are:

Weather, flood and insurance exposure

Insurance is the line item that surprises people. Citizens, the state-backed insurer of last resort, averages $1,159 a year in Nassau County across 389 policies. Roof age, wind-mitigation features and flood zone move a quote more than anything else, so price insurance before you write an offer, not after. The Fernandina Beach hurricane and flood exposure page has the NOAA storm record since 1950, the share of homes in FEMA flood zones and the building-code era of the housing stock.

Who is moving to Fernandina Beach

IRS county-to-county returns for Nassau County show 8,260 people moving in and 5,272 moving out in the latest filing year, a net of +2,988. Out-of-state arrivals came mostly from GA, SC, CA, NC. Households arriving reported an average adjusted gross income of $143,143 against $76,590 for those leaving. Nassau County’s population grew from 80,578 in 2018 to 94,653 (+17%), and median household income rose +34% over the same stretch.

The trade-offs, by the numbers

What the numbers argue for: five-year appreciation of +4.6% a year; 5.4 months of supply (a balanced market); Citizens average premium $1,159 a year; net migration +2,988 people a year into the county.

What the numbers argue against: price-to-income of 5.5x (above the four-times rule); 34.1% of median income to own the median home (over the 28% guideline); prices -1.2% over the last year, which favors buyers on price and hurts recent sellers; median property tax bill $2,558 a year.

None of this describes the people who live here; it describes what it costs to buy in, what you carry each month, and how the market has treated owners. Neighborhood fit is a visit, not a statistic.

Keep researching Fernandina Beach

• Homes for sale in Fernandina Beach, FL
• Best neighborhoods in Fernandina Beach
• Moving to Fernandina Beach: the guide
• Cost of living in Fernandina Beach
• Fernandina Beach housing market tracker
• Recently sold homes in Fernandina Beach (aggregates)
• Nassau County property tax guide
• Fernandina Beach hurricane and flood risk
• How to find the best real estate agent in Fernandina Beach

Common questions

Market figures are aggregates as of September 16, 2026 and change over time; no individual sale is shown. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.