Zero down on eligible homes. Rural and suburban Northeast Florida.

What a USDA loan is

The U.S. Department of Agriculture guarantees mortgages issued by approved lenders in designated rural and suburban areas. The benefit: zero down payment, low mortgage insurance, competitive rates. The catch: the property must be in a USDA-eligible zip code, and household income must be below the program's income limit.

Who qualifies

Eligibility checks:

• The home must be in a USDA-eligible area. Many NE Florida zips are. We confirm against the USDA map during application.
• Household income (everyone in the home, not just the borrower) must be at or below 115% of area median income for the county
• Must be your primary residence; investment and second homes are not eligible
• Property must meet basic condition standards via USDA appraisal

When USDA is the right call

• You're buying in rural Clay County, most of Nassau County, or a nearby town like Starke or Macclenny, and the property is in a USDA-eligible area
• Combined household income is moderate (under the 115% AMI threshold)
• You don't have a large down payment ready
• Credit is at least mid-600s with no recent major issues

Northeast Florida towns we checked

On September 23, 2026 we checked these towns against USDA's Rural Housing eligibility map, the same map USDA uses to decide which areas qualify (USDA property eligibility). For each town we tested the center and four points about a mile out in each direction.

Every point we tested in these towns came back eligible:

• Clay County: Middleburg, Keystone Heights, Green Cove Springs, Penney Farms, Lake Asbury
• Nassau County: Yulee, Callahan, Hilliard, and Fernandina Beach
• St. Johns County: Hastings and the rural west of the county
• Nearby counties: Starke (Bradford County) and Macclenny (Baker County)

These came back not eligible: Orange Park, Fleming Island, St. Augustine, and central Jacksonville. Ponte Vedra Beach was mostly not eligible, with an exception at the edges.

Two cautions. Eligibility is decided address by address, and a boundary can run through a town, so a town on the eligible list does not guarantee every home in it qualifies. And USDA updates the map, so a result can change. We check your exact address before you make an offer.

Buying in Clay County? See mortgage options across Clay County, or start with a Clay County pre-approval that checks USDA for you. Looking in Yulee, Callahan or Fernandina Beach? See Nassau County and Amelia Island.

When to look at other programs

• Property is inside an excluded urban area: USDA isn't available
• Household income is above the cap: you don't qualify
• Investment property: not eligible under USDA
• VA-eligible: VA also offers 0% down and may price better depending on file

Want a number before you talk to anyone? See what you can qualify for using this week's Freddie Mac rate. No application, no credit pull.