Nocatee vs. Tributary: St. Johns County or Nassau County? (2026)

Picture the same Tuesday in two places. In Nocatee, you run errands at the Town Center on Crosswater Parkway, and the beach at Mickler's Landing is a short drive east. In Tributary, you leave the lakefront amenity center, turn onto State Road 200 in Yulee, and the Jacksonville airport terminal is less than 15 miles down the road.

Both are master-planned communities with pools, trails and newer homes. But they sit about 48 miles apart, in two different counties, and the bills that arrive each year look different. This guide puts those yearly costs side by side.

A quick correction: older versions of this page described Tributary as a St. Johns County community near the Jacksonville line. It is in Yulee, Nassau County, north of Jacksonville.

Where They Are, and What That Means for Your Drives

Nocatee's Town Center is on Crosswater Parkway in Ponte Vedra. The community spans St. Johns and Duval counties, according to its Community Development District. Tributary sits off State Road 200 (A1A) in Yulee, about 2.2 miles west of the I-95 interchange at exit 373.

Road miles below were measured with OpenStreetMap routing in October 2026, from Nocatee Town Center and from Tributary's Lily Pond Court area. Traffic will change the minutes; the miles stay put.

The Yearly Cost, Layer by Layer

Owning in either community means three recurring lines: an association fee, a Community Development District (CDD) assessment, and county property taxes. Here is how each one works in each place.

A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, so on every $100,000 of taxable value, Tributary's 2025 rate costs $163.94 more than Nocatee's St. Johns County rate. Homes on Nocatee's Duval County side are taxed at Duval's rates, so check the bill for those.

Homestead works the same way in both counties. For 2026 it is worth up to $51,411 of assessed value, and Save Our Homes limits yearly increases in a homestead's assessed value to 3% or CPI, whichever is less, according to the Property Appraisers' Association of Florida. It does not reduce CDD assessments. Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot would raise the non-school exemption if 60% of voters approve it; our guide to homestead portability for Florida movers covers what moving here means for your exemption.

Real Fee Lines From Current Listings

Here is what actual homes showed on the MLS or on builder pages on October 28, 2026. HOA fees are converted to a yearly figure; CDD amounts are as listed. Taxes are left out because they depend on each buyer's purchase price and exemptions.

Two things jump out. First, the totals overlap more than most buyers expect. Second, Nocatee has one advantage Tributary cannot offer yet: some Nocatee bonds are already paid off. In the Tolomato CDD's FY2027 schedule, 434 St. Johns County parcels show no debt, and most bond series make their last payment in 2039. In Tributary, ask how many years remain on the bond for the lot you are considering.

One Tributary caution: Lennar's brochure for Lakeview at Tributary estimates HOA dues at about $134.75 a month, while most Tributary listings on the MLS, new construction included, show $150 a year. Get the real figure in writing before you sign.

What Your Money Buys: Builders, Prices and Amenities

Nocatee is mostly a resale market now. On October 28, 2026, the MLS showed 73 active single-family listings with Nocatee in the neighborhood name, from $345,000 to $2,225,034, and more under neighborhood names that leave it out, such as Del Webb Ponte Vedra. David Weekley's Reflections page was down to final opportunities. The PARC Group is Nocatee's master developer, and the Tolomato CDD owns Splash and Spray, its own list of parks and pools, and the greenway trails.

Tributary is still building. GreenPointe describes about 1,500 acres with approximately 3,200 homes. On October 28, 2026, David Weekley's 50-foot homesites started at $366,900 and its 70-foot homesites at $498,900, and Lennar's Lakeview collections ran from $459,990 to $629,990. Lennar markets Lakeview as active-adult living; ask for any age rules in writing. The MLS showed 39 active Tributary listings from $359,900 to $649,900. Amenities center on a lakefront amenity center with a resort-style pool, fitness center, pickleball, a dog park and trails.

If you want a decision framework rather than a cost breakdown, read Nocatee vs. Tributary: How to Decide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tributary in St. Johns County like Nocatee?

No. Tributary is in Yulee, in Nassau County, 47.5 road miles north of Nocatee's Town Center. Nocatee is in Ponte Vedra and spans St. Johns and Duval counties.

Which costs more per year, Nocatee or Tributary?

It depends on the home. In our October 28, 2026 all-ages single-family examples, HOA plus CDD ran from $2,928.70 to $3,789.38 a year across both, and a Del Webb Ponte Vedra (55+) resale came to $5,069.23. Tributary's 2025 tax rate of 15.1080 mills was higher than the 13.4686 mills in unincorporated St. Johns County.

Why is Tributary's HOA so low?

Most Tributary listings show a $150 yearly HOA, and the CDD carries more of the cost. Some sections show higher association fees, so read every fee line on the listing.

Can I pay off the CDD bond?

Nocatee's Tolomato CDD issues estoppel letters with exact payoff figures for a $250 fee. For Tributary, ask the Three Rivers CDD's district manager for the payoff amount on the specific lot.

Search Nocatee, Tributary and homes across Northeast Florida:

What To Do Right Now

1. Pick two homes at a similar price, one in each community, and list every HOA line and the CDD amount as a yearly figure.
2. Estimate taxes with the 2025 rates: $1,346.86 per $100,000 of taxable value in unincorporated St. Johns County, $1,510.80 in Tributary's Nassau district.
3. For Nocatee, look up the parcel in the Tolomato CDD's FY2027 assessment schedule to see the bond's final year.
4. Drive from each community to the places you go every week before you decide.
5. Call or text Joey Larsen at 904-863-6679 to get the full yearly cost for the homes on your list.

Cover photo: Christmas Cart by Taytaynoony, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.