Neptune Beach, Florida

Looking north along 1st St. at Neptune Beach in 1979.

Neptune Beach was originally part of Jacksonville Beach. Through its development, the part of Jacksonville Beach north of 20th Avenue North was sparsely populated, with a brick road (First Street) connecting the more populated southern area with Atlantic Beach. The name "Neptune Beach" originated in 1922 with Dan G. Wheeler, one of the few residents. Wheeler had a home at what is now One Ocean Hotel (now in Atlantic Beach), and had to walk all the way home from Mayport each evening after taking the Florida East Coast Railway train home from work in Jacksonville. A friend who worked for the railroad informed Wheeler that if he had a station, the train would have to stop for him, so Wheeler built his own train station near his home and named it Neptune.

Neptune seceded from Jacksonville Beach and incorporated as its own municipality in 1931, following a tax revolt. The comparatively few residents of the area were largely cut off from Jacksonville Beach city services such as police, fire, garbage collection, and road developments, though they paid taxes in equal share. The first mayor was O. O. McCollum, and the government met in Wheeler's old train station until a new town hall was completed in 1935.

Neptune Beach is located at 30°19′00″N 81°24′11″W (30.316641, –81.403081).[4]

Neptune Beach is one of several towns on San Pablo Island, which stretches through two counties (Duval and St. Johns) and extends from Naval Station Mayport at its northern tip to Vilano Beach in the south, across from St. Augustine.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Neptune Beach has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.7 km²), of which 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) is land and 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) (65.96%) is water.[3]

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,037 people, 3,282 households, and 1,857 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,968.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,146.3/km²). There were 3,472 housing units at an average density of 1,417.9 per square mile (547.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.08% White, 0.73% African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.09% of the population.

There were 3,282 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $53,576, and the median income for a family was $65,684. Males had a median income of $43,431 versus $30,264 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,525. About 1.9% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Duval County Public Schools operates public schools. Schools in Neptune Beach include:

• Neptune Beach Elementary School
• Duncan U. Fletcher Middle School
• Duncan U. Fletcher High School

Jacksonville Public Library operates the Beaches Branch in Neptune Beach.

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  Neptune Beach City Hall
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  Duncan U. Fletcher Middle School
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  Neptune Beach Elementary School
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  Beaches Branch Library, Jacksonville Public Library
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  Public Safety Building (Police Headquarters)
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  Beaches Town Center Entrance at Neptune Beach Boundary
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  Typical Dune Crossover at Beach Accesses in Neptune Beach

• Jacksonville Beaches
• Duval County, Florida
• Greater Jacksonville
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Duval County, Florida

• Official website
• Geographic data related to Neptune Beach, Florida at OpenStreetMap