St. Johns county has been growing a ton. With fast growth, there can be struggles to keep up… as a result, a sales tax question will be on the November ballot for residents.
Residents will be asked to say yes or no to increasing the county's sales tax rate on the Nov. 8. ballot. If approved, it would go into effect in January of 2023, and would last for 10 years. It would take the county sales tax percentage from 6.5% to 7.5%.
The money raised by the increased tax would go to things like road improvements, and parks and infrastructure for law enforcement, among others.
St. Johns County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the country. According to the latest census data, it was the 11th fastest growing during the pandemic. The census shows the county's population jumped 43% from 2010 to 2020, with more than 83,000 people moving there during that time. Over 16,000 people moved to St. Johns county between 2020 and 2021, making it the fastest-growing county percentage-wise at 5.6% and fourth in total population growth. The total population is now about 292,466.