Nassau County, FL FAQs

Is Nassau County Florida A Good Place to Live?

Nassau County, FL

Nassau County spreads over 726 square miles off the Atlantic Coast in Northeast Florida. It was created in 1824, with its territory spun off Duval County and its name gotten from the 19th century independent state Duchy of Nassau in Germany.

The county seat of Nassau and largest incorporated city is Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island where the Nassau communities of American Beach and Amelia City are also located. Yulee is the largest community of Nassau. Its size largely comes from being a residential bedroom community for folks working or doing business in Jacksonville, Duval County, and in the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay of Camden County or other economic centers in Southeast Georgia bordering Nassau to the north.

Home Market’s Strength

Nassau’s population growth in 2000‒2017 indicates a vibrant residential property estate market, as during that period, the county’s population grew by 12.8 percent to nearly 83,000 residents. Besides its proximity to economic hubs like Jacksonville, the increase in the population in Nassau is traceable to the growth in the county’s agriculture industry, tourism, and new industrial and commercial business locators.

Historically, tree farming and pulp production, as well as trucking, are among the drivers of Nassau’s economy. At Fernandina Beach, the city flexes its economic strengths via professional services including those for real estate, legal matters and medical care. It likewise benefits from its proximity to two upscale resorts —Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Amelia Island Plantation.

Nassau is well positioned to sustain its appeal to new business locators and to spur expansion amongst those already operating in the county. It boasts of over 17 million square feet of industrial and commercial space ready for use. The county likewise banks on its skilled workforce and a logistics network, including the Port of Fernandina, railways and highways, linked to more than 61 million consumers.

Support from the Academe

Various public and private schools serve Nassau County, thus helping ensure that it has a reliable source of qualified manpower for local business and industry. One major contributor to this strength is the Betty Cook Center, the Nassau campus of the Florida State College at Jacksonville. This center is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and it awards associates and bachelor’s degrees.

Recent business locators in Nassau include Rayonier, a real estate investment trust, which completed a new corporate headquarters in Yulee. Rayonier is also set to create a 24,000-acre mixed-use community in Yulee with housing, offices, light industrial facilities, shopping centers, medical facilities, and schools as its components.

Likewise reported in 2018 as relocating to Yulee is the large energy company Florida Public Utilities. The University of Florida announced in 2017 too that it will bring in two health and fitness facilities in Nassau.

These amenities would come as yet an addition to the many points of interests in Nassau. Residents and visitors to the county, for instance, find numerous water-based delights in Amelia Island. For camping and hiking, the historic Fort Clinch boasts of its beachfront park with nature trails and a wildlife habitat providing just one the many facets of Nassau County.