Duval County is in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 995,567, up from 864,263 in 2010. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, with which the Duval County government has been consolidated since 1968. Duval County was established in 1822, and is named for

William Pope Duval William Pope Duval (September 4, 1784 – March 19, 1854) was the first civilian governor of the Florida Territory, succeeding Andrew Jackson, who had been a military governor. In his twelve-year governorship, from 1822 to 1834, he divided Flori ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Florida Territory from 1822 to 1834. Duval County is the central county of the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

This area had been settled by varying cultures of

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

for thousands of years before European contact. Within the

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a U.S. National Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. It comprises of wetlands, waterways, and other habitats in northeastern Duval County. Managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with ...

in Jacksonville, archeologists have excavated remains of some of the oldest pottery in the United States, dating to 2500 BCE. Prior to European contact, the area was inhabited by the

Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Thei ...

, a Timucuan-speaking group who lived throughout the coastal areas of northern Florida. At the time Europeans arrived, much of what is now Duval County was controlled by the

Saturiwa The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered on the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect ...

, one of the region's most powerful tribes. The area that became Duval County was home to the 16th-century

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

colony of Fort Caroline, and saw increased European settlement in the 18th century with the establishment of

Cowford Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, later renamed Jacksonville. Duval County was created in 1822 from St. Johns County. It was named for

of Florida Territory from 1822 to 1834. When Duval County was created, it covered a massive area, from the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset h ...

on the west to the Atlantic Ocean on the east, north of a line from the mouth of the Suwannee River to Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. Alachua and

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

counties were created out of parts of Duval County in 1824.

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flo ...

was created from part of Duval County in 1858. Part of St. Johns County south and east of the lower reaches of the St. Johns River was transferred to Duval County in the 1840s. File:2 Duval.jpg, Portrait of

File:Courthouse1894JAX.jpg, Duval County Courthouse in 1894 File:Jacksonville in 1909.PNG, Jacksonville in 1909 File:JaxFederalCourthouse.jpg, Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse in 2008. File:Girls In The Surf At Sunset (255499033).jpeg,

Jacksonville Beach Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated on May 22, 1907, as Pablo Beach, and would later change its name to Jacksonville Beach in 1925. The city is part of group of communities coll ...

in 2018.

Government

On October 1, 1968, the government of Duval County was consolidated with the government of the city of Jacksonville. The Duval County cities of

Atlantic Beach Atlantic Beach is the name of some places in the United States: *Atlantic Beach, Florida, a city *Atlantic Beach, New York, a village *Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, a town *Atlantic Beach, South Carolina Atlantic Beach is a town in Horry County ...

, and Neptune Beach, and the town of Baldwin are not included in the corporate limits of Jacksonville, and maintain their own municipal governments. The city of Jacksonville provides all services that a county government would normally provide.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (17.0%) is water. The topography is coastal plain; however there are some rolling hills.

National protected areas

Fort Caroline National Memorial Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June, 1564, followin ...

Adjacent counties

* Nassau County - north and northwest * St. Johns County - southeast *

- southwest * Baker County - west

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 995,567 people, 369,704 households, and 225,060 families residing in the county.

2010 Census

U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Ethnic/Race Demographics: * White (non-Hispanic) (60.9% when including White Hispanics): 56.6% (10.7% German, 10.6% Irish, 9.2% English, 4.1% Italian, 2.3% French, 2.1% Scottish, 2.1% Scotch-Irish, 1.8% Polish, 1.2% Dutch, 0.6% Russian, 0.6% Swedish, 0.6% Norwegian, 0.5% Welsh, 0.5% French Canadian) * Black (non-Hispanic) (29.5% when including

Black Hispanic Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics ( es, Afrohispano, links=no), Afro-Latinos or Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. ...

s): 28.9% (1.7% Subsaharan African, 1.4% West Indian/

Afro-Caribbean American Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...

Other_or_Unspecified_West_Indian,_0.1%_Bahamian.html" ;"title="Afro-Caribbean">Other or Unspecified West Indian, 0.1% Bahamian">Afro-Caribbean">Other or Unspecified West Indian, 0.1% Bahamian * Hispanic or Latino of any race: 7.6% (2.5% Puerto Rican, 1.7% Mexican, 0.8% Cuban) * Asian: 4.2% (1.7% Filipino, 0.8% Indian, 0.6% Other Asian, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.3% Chinese, 0.2% Korean, 0.1% Japanese) *

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

: 2.9% * American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.4% * Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1% * Other Races: 2.1% (0.9% Arab) In 2010, 6.7% of the population considered themselves to be of only "

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

" ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity.) Of the 342,450 households 28.68% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.92% were married couples living together, 16.74% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.27% were non-families. 24.85% of households were one person and 8.05% (2.29% male and 5.76% female) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The age distribution was 23.5% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% 65 or older. The median age was 35.8 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. The median household income was $49,463 and the median family income was $60,114. Males had a median income of $42,752 versus $34,512 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,854. About 10.4% of families and 14.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those aged 65 or over. In 2010, 9.0% of the county's population was

foreign born Foreign-born (also non-native) people are those born outside of their country of residence. Foreign born are often non-citizens, but many are naturalized citizens of the country in which they live, and others are citizens by descent, typically ...

, with 49.5% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign-born residents, 38.2% were born in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

, 35.6% born in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, 17.9% were born in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, 5.8% born in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, 2.0% in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, and 0.5% were born in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

2000 Census

The racial makeup of the county was 65.80% White (63.6% were Non-Hispanic White,) 27.83% African American or Black, 0.33% Native American, 2.71% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 4.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 303,747 households 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.50% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 26.50% of households were one person and 7.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06. The age distribution was 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.50% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males. The median household income was $40,703 and the median family income was $47,689. Males had a median income of $32,954 versus $26,015 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,753. 11.90% of the population and 9.20% of families were below the

, including 16.40% of those under the age of 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or older.

Languages

As of 2010, 87.36% of all residents spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

as their

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

, while 5.74% spoke Spanish, 1.18%

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

, 0.53%

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, 0.48%

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

, 0.47% Vietnamese, and 0.46% of the population spoke French Creole (mostly

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

) as their

mother language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother ton ...

. In total, 12.64% of the population spoke languages other than English as their

primary language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats comprise a plurality of registered voters in Duval County.

Statewide and national elections

Duval County is somewhat conservative for an urban county, and it began moving away from the Democratic Party sooner than the majority of Florida counties. Despite the small Democratic plurality in registration, the county's Democrats are nowhere near as liberal as their counterparts in other large Florida counties, such as Miami-Dade and Orange. The county has only supported a Democrat for president three times since 1952, in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, 1976, and 2020. However, the Republican edge in Duval has lessened somewhat in recent years. It swung from a 16-point win for George W. Bush in 2004 to only a three-point win for

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

in 2008.

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

won an equally narrow margin in 2012 and in 2016,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

only won the county by fewer than 6,000 votes even as he narrowly carried Florida. In 2020, Joe Biden, despite losing statewide, broke the 44-year Democratic drought in Duval County, winning by less than four points. In 2018, Andrew Gillum, despite losing the election, won Duval by 4 points, the first time a Democrat has won the county in a gubernatorial election since Steve Pajcic's losing bid in 1986. In the Senate elections, Bill Nelson only failed to carry the county in his first bid in 2000, and Lawton Chiles and

Bob Graham Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the De ...

have carried the county in all three of their respective bids.

Education

Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville

Duval County Public Schools Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district that serves the families and children residing in the urban, suburban, and rural areas of the City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida. As of 2015, the district had an enro ...

operates public schools in the county. Duval County is served by the Jacksonville Public Library.

Communities

# 842,583 - Jacksonville # 21,823 -

# 12,985 -

# 7,124 - Neptune Beach # 1,430 - Baldwin '' 2013 estimate population''

Transportation

Public transportation

Public transportation is provided by the

Jacksonville Transportation Authority The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadway ...

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Airports

* Cecil Airport * Herlong Recreational Airport *

Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport , formerly known as Craig Municipal Airport, is a public airport located eight miles (13 km) east of the central business district of Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida, United States. It is owned ...

Jacksonville International Airport Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. History Construction st ...

Notes

References

External links

Government links

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

, and

Counties
Office of the State Attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism

Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention and Visitors' Bureau
{{authority control 1822 establishments in Florida Territory Charter counties in Florida Counties in the Jacksonville metropolitan area North Florida Populated places established in 1822