A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Hastings$1,880/mo

Typical home $278K (Zillow) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →

Jay$1,620/mo

Typical home $286K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.52% · or rent about $1,117/mo · Housing →

The difference: $260 a month, about $3,100 a year, between Hastings and Jay.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

HastingsJay

Snow a year0″0″

January low45°F 39°F

July high91°F 92°F

Growing season (days)308d 251d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)78th 87th

Outdoors & history

HastingsJay

Trails1 mi 0 mi

Conserved land6%0%

Settled1890 —

National Register places1 —

Community

HastingsJay

Library hours a week37 hrs 50 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

348 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HastingsFL JayFL

Hastings ↔ Jay348 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Florida average

HastingsJay

People

Population 432Lowest 796Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +117.6%Highest FL: +14.6% -1.7%Lowest FL: +14.6%

Median age 21.9±60.2Lowest 49% below FL 30.8±9.8Highest 28% below FL

Jay and Hastings are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 31.3%±21.1Highest FL: 19.5% 27.4%±15.4Lowest FL: 19.5%

Hastings and Jay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 23.1%±24Highest FL: 21.3% 9.5%±2.8Lowest FL: 21.3%

Hastings and Jay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 4.9%Lowest FL: 34.1% 14.8%Highest FL: 34.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±4.9Lowest FL: 6.1% 8.3%±5Highest FL: 6.1%

Jay and Hastings are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian — $48,359±$21k 35% below FL

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $108,800±$107kLowest 70% below FL $150,800±$102kHighest 58% below FL

Jay and Hastings are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly — $1,117±$128 33% below FL

Property taxmedian, yearly — $782 71% below FL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 100%±13.8Highest FL: 60.1% 35.6%±41.3Lowest FL: 60.1%

Below poverty line 74.5%Highest FL: 12.6% 26.6%Lowest FL: 12.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 31.9%Lowest FL: 67.6% 38.2%Highest FL: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1972Highest 16 yrs older than FL 1969Lowest 19 yrs older than FL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way — 38 min 37% above FL

Work from home 0.9%±1.4Lowest FL: 15.7% 3.6%±4.1Highest FL: 15.7%

Jay and Hastings are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 1.7%Lowest 4.1%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.3 miLowest 30.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.69Lowest 2.28Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Jacksonville (16%)Pensacola (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in JayFew work in Hastings

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.8 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 31.2Lowest 39.9Highest

Schools

School district ST. JOHNSSANTA ROSA

High school in town ST. Johns County Jail (DJJ)Jay High School

Students per teacherat that high school — 17.8

Florida average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Hastings neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hastings’s Town Square.

Jay neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Jay’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Hastings and Jay

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Hastings

+ Compare

Caryville309 people

+ Compare

Branford950 people · $157K homes

+ Compare

Worthington Springs279 people · $183K homes

+ Compare

Raiford382 people

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Hastings vs Jay

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Grades and rankings, side by side

A typical home costs $260 more a month in Hastings

What daily life feels like in each

348 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Hastings and Jay

Towns like Hastings

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