Jacksonville, FL Economic Overview
With nearly 1.6 million residents in the metropolitan area, Jacksonville is the largest city in the state and the commercial and financial center of Northeast Florida. Jacksonville's integrated transportation infrastructure of rail, deepwater seaport, air, and roadways benefits business of all kinds. Jacksonville's diverse industries of distribution, financial services, biomedical, information service, manufacturing, and consumer goods continue to drive the demand for commercial real estate.
With job growth up nearly 6% over the past year, median household income up by over 8%, and the population increasing by over 2%, the economy in Jacksonville continues to fire on all cylinders. Over the past few years, private capital from foreign, institutional investors has flowed into the commercial market from countries such as Canada, Chile, the UAE, Norway and Bahrain. The main economic drivers in Jacksonville are its transportation infrastructure, the JAXPORT international seaport, and the strong mix of business and industry.
Jacksonville, FL Commercial Real Estate Market
One of the primary forces in the Jacksonville industrial real estate market is the JAXPORT full-service international seaport, which currently ranks as one of the fastest growing in the U.S. and the #1 port handling trade with Puerto Rico. It is a leading port for automobile imports and one of Florida's leading transportation and distribution hubs. With an inventory of nearly 135 million square feet of flex and warehouse space combined, the market indicators for vacancy, net absorption, rental rates and construction in the pipeline are all moving in the right direction.
Forbes recently ranked the Jacksonville area as one of the fastest growing areas in the country for high-tech growth. With more than 63 million square feet of office inventory, some of the heaviest users of office space in Jacksonville are the financial services, healthcare, life sciences and advanced transportation & logistics sectors. The numbers for vacancy, net absorption, rental rates and product in the pipeline continue to move in the right direction.
The only thing hotter than Florida in the summertime is the retail market in the Jacksonville area. With nearly 91 million square feet of inventory in all submarkets combined, the average occupancy rate is nearing the 94% mark, and net absorption, rental rate increases and new product are all on the rise. Commercial real estate is in high demand in areas such as: Riverside, Arlington, and Downtown Jacksonville.
Jacksonville, FL Office Sales Volume
Data provided by Yardi Matrix, for properties larger than 50K SF, which sold at over $5M.
Jacksonville, FL Office Transactions
Data provided by Yardi Matrix, for properties larger than 50K SF, which sold at over $5M.
Jacksonville, FL Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 36,662,956 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 7,722,451 SF / 21.06% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 23,805,580 SF / 64.93% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 5,134,925 SF / 14.01% of total office
By class:
- Class A: 19,517,902 SF / 53.24% of total office
- Class B: 14,404,338 SF / 39.29% of total office
- Class C: 879,186 SF / 2.4% of total office
Industrial
Total: 88,788,228 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 5,768,185 SF / 6.5% of total industrial
- 100k to 500k SF: 55,300,082 SF / 62.28% of total industrial
- 500k to 1M SF: 16,211,536 SF / 18.26% of total industrial
- > 1M SF: 11,508,425 SF / 12.96% of total industrial
By class:
- Class A: 43,155,823 SF / 48.61% of total industrial
- Class B: 32,024,083 SF / 36.07% of total industrial
- Class C: 3,459,258 SF / 3.9% of total industrial
Employment in Jacksonville, FL
Employees head to Jacksonville in increasingly larger numbers, attracted by the low unemployment rate of under 5%, the low cost of living and the consistently increasing number of jobs opportunities in Jacksonville. Forbes recently ranked Jacksonville as #3 in the top U.S. cities to relocate to, to find a job.
Key industries with high-growth potential in Jacksonville include:
- Financial and professional services;
- Health, life sciences and health care technology;
- Logistics, IT and supply chain management;
- Aviation and aerospace;
- Advanced manufacturing;
- Information technology.
Major employers in Jacksonville include the Fortune 500 companies CSX Corporation, Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Information Services, and Southeastern Grocers, all with headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida. In the banking and financial services sector, Atlantic National Bank, Florida National Bank and Barnett Bank are all headquartered here. The Port of Jacksonville is a large employer in the economy and has an economic impact of $2.7 billion. In addition to banking, financial services and logistics, media and technology, and the military and defense industries are also important employers in Jacksonville.
Education in Jacksonville, FL
Jacksonville has 67 public elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, and employs over 5,600 teachers, with a student base of nearly 151,000. Seven of the city's high schools were recognized by the U.S. News & World Report's Best High Schools rankings, and students leave high school with a college readiness score of 8.7 out of a possible 10.
Colleges and universities in the Jacksonville area include the University of Florida, Jacksonville University, Edward Waters College, Jones College and the Florida Coastal School of Law.
Commuting Time in Jacksonville, FL
The average commute time in Jacksonville is a bit over 25 minutes, while almost 2% of the workforce faces a 'super commute' each day, of 90 minutes or more. Because the city is so spread out, commuting by car is the transportation of choice, for most.
- Roadways in Jacksonville are Interstates 10, 95 and 295; U.S. Highways 1, 17, 23, 90 and 301.
- Rail service for both passenger and freight traffic is an important part of Jacksonville's transportation structure, with Amtrak providing daily service from Jacksonville, and both CSX Transportation and Florida East Coast Railway are headquartered in the city.
- The Jacksonville Skyway is one of the area's most forward-thinking mass transit projects, connecting Florida State College's downtown Jacksonville campus with the Northbank Central Business District, the convention center, and SouthBank Business District locations.
- JAXPORT is the full-service international seaport, serving as both a cruise port and an industrial port that handles over 9 million tons of cargo annually.
- Jacksonville International Airport provides air service to the metropolitan area, and Cecil Airport is designated as a space port providing service for both public and private extraterrestrial travel.
Jacksonville Demographics
Population
- Total Population878,907
- Male Population(48.4 %) 425,235
- Female Population(51.6 %) 453,672
- Median Age35.80
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$71,800
- Median Household Income$52,576
- Median Income Under 25$31,447
- Median Income 25-44$54,676
- Median Income 45-64$62,197
- Median Income Over 65$40,890
News
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