Where UNF Students Live Off Campus: 6 Jacksonville Areas Compared by Commute

The UNF off-campus neighborhoods that matter come down to six areas, and the best one for most students is the stretch of St. Johns Bluff Road just west of campus. Three complexes there sit 0.9 to 1.3 miles from the University of North Florida, and The Edge at Town Center has the cheapest one-bedroom near UNF at $1,153. Want the lowest rent per person? Head east to Kernan Boulevard, where a filled four-bedroom at Mirage on Kernan works out to $478 each.

Key Takeaways

• St. Johns Bluff Road (west of campus) is the closest cluster: Frassati Hall, The Club and The Edge, all within 1.3 miles.
• Cheapest per person? A four-bedroom at Mirage on Kernan, $1,912 split four ways.
• The Town Center side costs more. Two-bedrooms at The Oasis and Uptown start around $1,706 to $1,719.
• Beach Boulevard, Hodges Boulevard and A.C. Skinner Parkway put you 1.6 to 3.5 miles out (you'll want a car or a bike).
• UNF's free Town Center Shuttle runs from the library to Target and Publix, not to apartment complexes.
• Parking matters: UNF lists student Blue Lot annual permits as sold out, while a Gray Lot annual permit is $95.

How We Compared UNF Off-Campus Areas

We grouped every complex on the Find My Place page for off-campus housing near UNF by the road it sits on, then ranked the areas by distance to campus. Distances come from each property's FMP listing. Prices are the lowest listed rent for each unit size as of October 2026, before fees.

One thing to know up front. Almost every complex near UNF prices by the whole apartment, so rent goes up as you add bedrooms. Any per-person figure here is our math, assuming every room is filled. Frassati Hall is the exception (more on that below).

1. St. Johns Bluff Road: The Closest UNF Off-Campus Area

Pick this area if you want to be as close to class as possible without living in a dorm. It runs along the west side of campus, and it holds three of the five nearest listings:

• Frassati Hall, 11291 Alumni Way: 0.9 miles. Beds start at $949.
• The Club at Town Center, 3737 St. Johns Bluff Rd S: 1.0 mile. One-bedrooms from $1,210, two-bedrooms from $1,326.
• The Edge at Town Center, 3544 St. Johns Bluff Rd S: 1.3 miles. One-bedrooms from $1,153, three-bedrooms from $1,465.

The Edge is our pick on this road. Its $1,153 one-bedroom is the lowest solo rent we found near UNF, and its residents give it a 5.0 rating on Find My Place. Frassati Hall is the outlier: its one-bedroom ($1,379) costs more than its two-bedroom ($989) or four-bedroom ($949), which only adds up if each price is per person. So it suits a student who wants a bed without hunting for roommates.

2. Kernan Boulevard: Cheapest Per Person, With a Shuttle Stop Nearby

Kernan Boulevard is the east-side choice for groups. Mirage on Kernan, at 3601 Kernan Blvd S, is 1.2 miles from campus. Its four-bedroom, four-bath units start at $1,912, about $478 each when full, and its three-bedrooms start at $1,803 ($601 each).

Here's the detail most guides skip. UNF's weekday Osprey Connector shuttle starts its loop at Kernan Boulevard, next to Hicks Hall and Lot 53, and runs as late as 3 a.m. on weekdays. That's the campus side of the commute for anyone who parks or gets dropped off on the east edge.

Farther south on the Kernan side, Vinoy at St Johns (12310 Seacrest Ln, 1.5 miles) lists from $1,170. Treat that as a one-off unit. Most of its two-bedrooms run higher, and its price-by-size pattern is too mixed to say how the rent is split.

3. St. Johns Town Center: Best for Shopping, Not for Budget

Live here if you want Target, Publix and restaurants close by and can pay for it. Two complexes sit on the Town Center side, southwest of campus:

• The Oasis at Town Center, 10667 Brightman Blvd: 1.1 miles. One-bedrooms from $1,557, two-bedrooms from $1,706.
• Uptown at St. Johns, 5290 Big Island Dr: 1.5 miles. One-bedrooms from $1,333, two-bedrooms from $1,719.

A two-bedroom here costs roughly $400 a month more than The Edge's. That gap is the price of the address. UNF also runs a free Town Center Shuttle from the Thomas G. Carpenter Library to ALDI, Maggiano's, Target and Publix, but it only operates midday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, shorter on weekends). It's a grocery run, not a class commute.

4. Beach Boulevard: North of Campus, Closer to the Beaches

Beach Boulevard works if you'd rather be pointed toward the coast than toward Town Center. Two listings sit on it:

• The Ridley, 12517 Beach Blvd: 1.6 miles. One-bedrooms from $1,423, two-bedrooms from $1,652, three-bedrooms from $2,082.
• Beachline Apartments, 13305 Beach Blvd: 2.5 miles. One-bedrooms from $1,684, three-bedrooms from $2,157.

Neither is a bargain. The Ridley's three-bedroom splits to about $694 each, which beats living alone but loses to Mirage by more than $200 a person. This area makes sense mostly for students who already know they'll drive.

5. Hodges Boulevard and Discovery Way: More Space, Longer Drive

Go east past Kernan and rents ease a little in exchange for distance. Country Club Lakes, 4090 Hodges Blvd, is 2.6 miles out, with one-bedrooms from $1,349 and two-bedrooms from $1,471. Beach Bluff Apartments, 3210 Discovery Way, is 3.5 miles away and has a $1,200 one-bedroom, the second-cheapest solo option in the UNF set.

Who is this for? Upperclassmen and grad students with a car who want a quieter complex and don't mind a longer drive.

6. A.C. Skinner Parkway: The Far West Option

The Loree, at 8649 A C Skinner Pkwy, is 3.4 miles west of UNF. One-bedrooms start at $1,394, two-bedrooms at $1,675 and three-bedrooms at $1,890 ($630 each, filled). For a class commute, the St. Johns Bluff complexes are closer and cheaper.

Skip the listings that are really near other schools. Jackson Commons, on University Blvd N, is 8.7 miles from UNF and much closer to Jacksonville University.

Getting to UNF From Off Campus: Car, Shuttle or Bus

Plan on driving or biking from every area on this list. The two shuttles help at the edges, not the whole way. UNF's international student office says college students ride JTA buses for free on fixed routes and the First Coast Flyer, and UNF's own transit page lists the 8A bus with stops at St. Johns Town Center.

If you drive, check permits early. UNF's parking permits and rates page shows the student Blue Lot annual permit ($160) as sold out, while a Gray Lot annual permit is $95 and a term permit is $55. Gray Lot it is, most likely.

Frequently Asked Questions About UNF Off-Campus Neighborhoods

What is the closest off-campus housing to UNF?

Frassati Hall, 0.9 miles away at 11291 Alumni Way. The Club at Town Center (1.0 mile), The Oasis at Town Center (1.1 miles) and Mirage on Kernan (1.2 miles) come next.

Which UNF off-campus area is cheapest?

Kernan Boulevard, if you have three roommates. A four-bedroom at Mirage on Kernan starts at $1,912, or $478 each. Living alone, The Edge at Town Center on St. Johns Bluff Road is cheapest at $1,153 for a one-bedroom.

Can you live off campus at UNF without a car?

It's tough. The free Town Center Shuttle only runs from the library to shopping stops in the middle of the day, and no apartment on this list is on it. If you're skipping the car, pick St. Johns Bluff Road or Kernan Boulevard and bike the roughly one-mile trip.

Is the Town Center area worth the extra rent?

Only if you'll use it. Two-bedrooms at The Oasis and Uptown start around $1,706 to $1,719, roughly $400 more a month than The Edge, which is about the same distance from campus.