St. Augustine flood zones, neighborhood by neighborhood.
The oldest city has flooded in five named storms since 2016 without a single landfall, and the same low blocks took the water each time. I’m Krista Fracke. Instead of telling you which streets by memory, this page shows the FEMA flood zone of every home currently for sale here, grouped by the place it sits in, from the same hazard data this site stamps on each listing.
By Krista Fracke — Broker Associate, Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · 20+ years in Northeast Florida · 500+ closings · client reviews
The live table: current inventory by place
Of the 750 homes for sale across the city and the island right now, 67% map to minimal-hazard Zone X. The share changes sharply by neighborhood:
| Place | Homes for sale | In Zone X | In a high-risk zone | Evacuation Zone A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown & the historic district | 70 | 14% | 86% | 100% |
| North City | 35 | 46% | 54% | 100% |
| Davis Shores | 87 | 21% | 79% | 100% |
| West Augustine & Ravenswood | 179 | 95% | 5% | 19% |
| Old Moultrie & Wildwood | 96 | 98% | 2% | 13% |
| St. Augustine Beach | 183 | 72% | 28% | 100% |
| Crescent Beach & Summer Haven | 23 | 65% | 35% | 100% |
| Vilano Beach | 56 | 46% | 54% | 100% |
Live from current MLS inventory, refreshed daily. Zones are FEMA’s mapping for each home’s coordinates; an elevation certificate can refine an individual property’s status. High-risk means AE, A, AO or VE.
What the letters mean here
| FEMA zone | Homes for sale | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| X | 502 | Minimal hazard, outside the mapped high-risk floodplain. Lenders do not require flood insurance. |
| AE | 241 | High-risk floodplain with base flood elevations mapped. Flood insurance required on a mortgage. Most of downtown and Davis Shores. |
| A | 4 | High-risk floodplain without detailed elevations mapped. Flood insurance required on a mortgage. |
| VE | 3 | Coastal high-hazard with wave action. A handful of oceanfront addresses. |
Why the map reads the way it does
Downtown sits on filled marsh at some of the lowest elevations in the county, and the Matanzas River funnels storm surge straight into the bay in front of it. That is why the historic district and Davis Shores, directly across the Bridge of Lions, carry AE on most of their streets, and why they flooded in Matthew, Irma, Dorian, Ian and Nicole without any of those storms making landfall here. The city is rebuilding the bayfront seawall from the Bridge of Lions to Charlotte Street, a project begun in June 2026 with a fall 2027 target, and I would still buy any low-lying home on its own elevation and history rather than on the promise of infrastructure.
West of US-1 the ground rises. The West Augustine, Ravenswood and Old Moultrie neighborhoods map almost entirely to Zone X and sit outside the county’s surge evacuation zones. On the island, the spine of St. Augustine Beach is higher than the bayfront, so most of its inventory is Zone X even though every island address is evacuation Zone A. Vilano splits roughly in half between the dune line and the Tolomato side. The full storm record, storm by storm, lives on the St. Augustine hurricane history page.
The part nobody tells you
Florida does not require a seller to disclose that a home has flooded. In a city where the same blocks took water five times in seven seasons, that law does the buyer no favors. What I do instead: pull the FEMA zone and the elevation certificate, ask the neighbors what happened in Irma, check whether the house was raised or the mechanicals moved up, and get a flood quote on the actual address before the offer. A Davis Shores house that was rebuilt high after 2017 can be the safest buy on its street. The one next to it, on the original slab, is a different decision at a different price.
St. Augustine homes in minimal-hazard Zone X, on the market now
This is the work I do every week. Shortlisting in St. Augustine? Send me the addresses. I will pull each home’s flood zone, evacuation zone, elevation and storm history, and get a real insurance quote into the monthly math before you write anything.
Work with Krista (904) 333-8595 Text
Broker Associate · Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · 20+ years · 500+ closings
Common questions
Does St. Augustine flood?
Yes, and the record is specific about where. Matthew in 2016, Irma in 2017, Dorian in 2019, Ian and Nicole in 2022 each put water into the downtown bayfront, the lowest blocks of Lincolnville and Davis Shores without a single one of them making landfall here. The Matanzas River funnels surge into the bay, and downtown sits on filled marsh at some of the lowest elevations in the county. The live table on this page shows how that translates into FEMA zones street by street.
What flood zone is downtown St. Augustine in?
Mostly AE, the high-risk designation with mapped base flood elevations. On the day this page was built, the large majority of downtown listings and of Davis Shores listings carried AE; West Augustine and the Old Moultrie corridor were almost entirely Zone X. The table above is live and updates with inventory.
Is Davis Shores a bad place to buy?
It is one of the city’s most loved neighborhoods and one of its lowest. Those are both true. The operative questions are the specific home’s elevation, whether it was raised or rebuilt after the 2016 and 2017 floods, and its insurance history. A raised Davis Shores home with an elevation certificate is a different purchase from an original slab house three doors down. I pull both before an offer.
Is St. Augustine Beach in a flood zone?
Less than people expect. Most of the beach’s current inventory maps to Zone X because the island’s spine sits higher than the bayfront; the AE pockets are on the Intracoastal side and in the lowest streets. All of it is in evacuation Zone A, which is a surge-evacuation designation, not a flood-map one.
Do I need flood insurance in St. Augustine?
Lenders require it in the high-risk zones (AE, A, VE), which is most of downtown, Davis Shores and half of Vilano. In Zone X it is optional and, in this city, I still recommend it: the 2016 to 2022 record includes water outside the mapped zones, and Zone X premiums are the lowest a homeowner can buy. Premiums are set per property under FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0, so I get a real quote on the specific address during diligence rather than quoting an average.
What evacuation zone is St. Augustine in?
Downtown, North City, Davis Shores, Vilano and the whole island are St. Johns County evacuation Zone A, the first zone called in a surge evacuation. West Augustine and the Old Moultrie corridor are mostly outside the surge zones. The evacuation zone rides on every listing on this site next to the flood zone.
St. Augustine hurricane history →
Dora to Nicole: the repeat-flood record, storm by storm.
Davis Shores homes for sale →
The neighborhood the flood conversation is really about.
Anastasia Island, the guide →
Davis Shores to Summer Haven: what the island is and how it is priced.
Homes outside high-risk flood zones →
Every St. Johns County listing currently mapped to Zone X, live.
Ponte Vedra Beach flood zones →
The other coast, with a different map.
Living in St. Augustine →
Three towns wearing one name: the rest of the decision.
Want the flood picture on a specific St. Augustine home?
Tell me the address. I’ll pull its FEMA zone, its elevation, what it did in Irma, and how insurers are treating that street, before you fall in love with it.
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