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The City of Jacksonville is pleased to announce that S&P Global and Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KRBA) have assigned two more top tier “AA” ratings for our 2025 special revenue bonds. Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings affirmed an “AA+” rating.
 

A city’s bond rating is a measure of its credit quality, which is the ability to pay a bond's principal and interest in a timely fashion. A higher bond rating generally means the city can borrow at a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in the process.

“We are grateful that S&P and Kroll have joined Fitch in recognizing the significant progress our city is making,” said Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. “This year’s ratings mark the second year in a row that we have received top tier ratings for this critical bond issuance that supports our infrastructure projects. It exemplifies Jacksonville’s strong financial health and reflects on what’s possible when we combine bold ideas with fiscal responsibility to move our city forward.”

The ratings reflect Jacksonville’s solid financial track record, healthy reserves, strong and diverse economy, fast population growth, and significant military presence. The City’s focus on permitting, downtown development, and climate resilience were also contributing factors.

Highlights from the S&P Global report include:

“The 'AA' rating reflects Jacksonville's robust and diverse economy that continues to strengthen through healthy employment gains and investment coming to the city, along with an already significant military presence. The city, located in Duval County, is the economic engine for the seven-county Northeast Florida region and has seen its population increase by over 15% in the last decade. … Economic output continues to outpace the national rate and provides additional support to the rating. The economic growth in conjunction with the city’s comprehensive financial policies fiscally responsible management “has resulted in several years of positive operating performances and healthy reserve levels.”

“Broad and expanding tax base, with economic output above the national average and steady population growth. Property valuation growth, steady building permits, and notable development projects are contributing to the city’s strong assessed value growth. Robust private investment and employment gains will likely contribute to further growth in the tax and employment bases in the near term. Proactive and sophisticated financial policies and practices, demonstrated by well-rounded budgeting practices, general fund forecasting and long-term capital planning.”

“The city is working to address immediate and long-term climate and weather-related risks, for example, by adding staff to its resilience team and participating in the Storm Resiliency and Infrastructure Development Review Committee. We understand that Jacksonville has taken steps to buy out certain parcels in flood-prone areas in recent years. … According to officials, the city continues to implement the Resilient Jacksonville strategy, which includes a commitment to risk-informed land use decisions.”

The KRBA report also noted that Jacksonville has an excellent economic base, population growth rate, and demographic makeup; an exceptional budget and appropriation process; and ideal management structure, budget practices, and policies. They also noted that the City’s reserves “far exceed the City’s Reserve Policy targets of 5–7% for operating reserves and 7–10% for emergency reserves, providing a substantial cushion above the minimums and underscoring the City’s strong commitment to financial resilience.”

The City of Jacksonville is pleased to announce that Fitch Ratings has assigned another top tier “AA+” rating for our 2025 special revenue bonds.
 

A city’s bond rating is a measure of its credit quality, which is the ability to pay a bond's principal and interest in a timely fashion. A higher bond rating generally means the city can borrow at a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in the process.

This rating reflects Jacksonville’s solid financial track record and the expectations that available reserves will equal at least 10% of spending on a sustained basis. The rating is also attributed to the city’s population trends, unemployment metrics, and role as an economic anchor for Northeast Florida.

“We are grateful that Fitch recognizes the significant progress our city is making,” said Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. “This year’s rating marks the second year in a row that we have received an AA+ rating for this critical bond that supports our infrastructure projects. It exemplifies Jacksonville’s strong financial health and reflects on what’s possible when we combine bold ideas with fiscal responsibility to move our city forward.”

1. Fitch noted Jacksonville’s fast population growth. Based on the median of 10-year annual percentage change in population, Fitch rated Jacksonville’s population trend as “Strong.” In other words, the city’s population is of sufficient size and the economy is diversified enough to qualify for their highest overall size/diversification category.

2. Fitch highlighted the city’s low unemployment. According to the latest job report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jacksonville’s 3.6% unemployment rate is below the state and national average.

3. Fitch believes that Jacksonville anchors the Northeast Florida economy. They provided multiple examples:

1. * Jacksonville has a large and expanding healthcare industry, with UF expanding its investment in the city not only in healthcare, but also in a graduate campus that will offer degrees in AI, engineering, biomedical and computer sciences.
   • Jacksonville International Airport and the Jacksonville Port Authority facilitate connectivity with Latin America, the Caribbean, and other global markets.
   • NAS Jacksonville and NAS Mayport collectively employ 41,000 active-duty and civilian workers.

Additionally, Fitch upgraded the outstanding Better Jacksonville sales tax revenue bonds from “AA-“ to “A+,” and affirmed an “AA+:” rating for four other bond categories.