Robert H. Jenkins Junior Middle

It's a good fit if you want small-town Putnam County life with real access to the St. Johns River, since nine of the 36 active Palatka homes for sale are waterfront. Families also get a clear school path through Jenkins Middle up to Palatka High School. It's quieter and more affordable than coastal Florida, with room to spread out.

Not by Florida standards — the median list price is $251,950 and homes sold over the last year came in at a median of $219,000. There's a true entry point, with listings starting around $50,000, though a few riverfront properties push toward $2.75 million.

Expect a median list price of $251,950 and an average of $261 per square foot, with a median home size around 1,511 square feet. Three of the active listings are priced above $1 million, but most inventory sits well below that.

It's active and fairly brisk: 85 homes sold in the past 12 months, and listings move in a median of 18 days. Sellers are getting about 94% of asking on average, so there's modest room to negotiate without expecting deep discounts.

There's no typical HOA fee reported for this zone, which keeps monthly costs simple. Property taxes run a median of about $1,985 per year, and if you're weighing renting first, the median rent is around $1,900 a month.