Gulf County, Florida: A Local Guide for Home Buyers and Homeowners
Gulf County covers 553.45 square miles of land, from the Dead Lakes around Wewahitchka down to the St. Joseph Peninsula and Cape San Blas. About 16,000 people live here, and the county is split between two time zones.
If you’re buying on the bay, on the cape or up the county, here’s what we’d go over with you first: how loan limits work here, the county SHIP program, homestead, what Hurricane Michael did to this coast, and the local numbers to keep handy after closing.
Every source for this guide is listed at the bottom of the page.
- County seatPort St. Joe
- Founded1925, from the southern part of Calhoun County
- PopulationAbout 16,000
- Land area553.45 sq mi
- Homestead filing deadlineMarch 1
- FHA limit, 1 unit$541,287 in 2026
- Conventional limit, 1 unit$832,750 in 2026
- School districtGulf County School District
- Cities and areas
- Homes and loan limits
- Down payment help
- Property taxes
- Storms and insurance
- Jobs, schools, commute
- Parks and local favorites
- Moving checklist
- Buying or refinancing
Cities and communities across Gulf County
Gulf County’s two cities are Port St. Joe and Wewahitchka. Much of the county’s tourism centers on the coast, at Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and St. Joe Beach, along with Port St. Joe itself.
The county was created on June 6, 1925, from the southern part of Calhoun County and named for the Gulf of Mexico. Wewahitchka was the first county seat, and the seat moved to Port St. Joe in 1965.
Port St. Joe
Port St. Joe is the county seat and sits on St. Joseph Bay. Under its original name, St. Joseph, it hosted Florida’s first Constitutional Convention in 1838. Gulf Coast State College’s Gulf/Franklin Campus is at 3800 Garrison St., and county government works out of 1000 Cecil G. Costin Sr. Blvd.
Wewahitchka
Wewahitchka was the county’s first seat and held that role until 1965, when it moved to Port St. Joe. It sits up by the Dead Lakes, and Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative has its headquarters here, at 722 W. Highway 22.
Cape San Blas
Cape San Blas sits on the St. Joseph Peninsula, between the Gulf and St. Joseph Bay. Hurricane Michael’s surge in 2018 cut two new inlets through St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on the cape.
Indian Pass
Indian Pass marks one end of the coast where the National Weather Service recorded 9 to 14 feet of Hurricane Michael surge, a stretch that ran from Mexico Beach to Indian Pass. Indian Pass Lagoon is one of the county’s named waterways.
St. Joe Beach
St. Joe Beach is an unincorporated Gulf-front community, and the county tourism office lists it as one of Gulf County’s destinations, alongside Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and Port St. Joe.
Bay, beach and inland homes, and how loan limits work
Gulf County housing splits three ways. Down on the water, you’re choosing between the Gulf-front stretch at St. Joe Beach, the cape and Indian Pass, and the bay side around Port St. Joe. Up the county, Wewahitchka and the land around the Dead Lakes are a different setting altogether, on Central Time rather than Eastern. With so few sales in a given month, the street you’re buying on tells you more than any county-wide number, so ask us and we’ll pull the sales that matter for the house you like.
Before you fall for a place, ask what the water comes from. The county runs a Water Department, but some homes are on city water and others on a private well and septic. On the cape and at Indian Pass, check the flood zone and the storm history the same day you check the price.
If you rent now, call 888-601-8344 and we’ll show you what a mortgage payment would look like next to your rent.
Gulf County uses the standard limits, not a high-cost figure. The FHA and Conventional limits in effect here are in the table below; HUD and FHFA reset them every January and the table catches the change.
| Loan limits in Gulf County for 2026 | Maximum loan |
|---|---|
| FHA, single-family home | $541,287 |
| FHA, two-unit home | $693,050 |
| FHA, three-unit home | $837,700 |
| FHA, four-unit home | $1,041,125 |
| Conventional, single-family home | $832,750 |
HUD sets the FHA limits and FHFA sets the Conventional limits for every county, and both change each January. This table refreshes itself from HUD's published figures.
Here’s the down payment math on a round example: on a $400,000 purchase, FHA’s 3.5% minimum down payment is $14,000, and down payment assistance can cover part or all of that. Call or text us at 954-816-8820 with the address, whether it’s in Port St. Joe or on the cape, and we’ll work up the payment on the real price.
Down payment help for Gulf County buyers
Gulf County’s SHIP program helps first-time buyers who already live in the county, and Florida Housing’s statewide programs come with their own separate rules. Timing matters with both, so read the call line under each one.
Gulf County SHIP Purchase Assistance
Gulf County SHIP gives first-time buyers interest-free help toward the down payment, closing costs and other eligible purchase costs. It’s a deferred 0% loan secured by a recorded mortgage, and the county forgives a share of it each year you keep the home.
First-time means you haven’t owned a principal residence in the past 3 years, you must already live in Gulf County, and each applicant gets one purchase award. You register in the county’s Neighborly Software portal, then call the SHIP office at (850) 312-3932 for an appointment.
Gulf County opens SHIP purchase money in rounds, and the award size, price cap and income limits are set by the county’s plan and can change between rounds. Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll find out from the SHIP office in Port St. Joe whether a round is open and what it pays before you write an offer.
Gulf County SHIP help for current owners
Gulf County SHIP also lends to owners. Owner-occupied rehabilitation puts health and safety, code violations and accessibility first in line, and there’s separate help for demolition and reconstruction, plus disaster mitigation and recovery after a declared disaster. Those are 0% deferred loans that the county forgives a little each year.
Repair money follows the same funding rounds as purchase money. If storm repairs or an aging roof are on your list, call or text us at 954-816-8820 and we’ll find out which of these Gulf County is funding when you need it.
Florida Hometown Heroes (statewide)
Hometown Heroes is a Florida Housing package: a 30-year fixed first mortgage plus a 0% second for the down payment and closing costs. There’s no monthly payment on the second, and it isn’t forgiven: you repay it when you sell, refinance or pay off the home, or move out. You’ll take a homebuyer education course first, and online counts.
The job test: at least one buyer works full time for a Florida-based employer in health care, K-12 schools, first response, public safety, the courts or licensed child care. For military buyers, active duty qualifies on its own, and veterans, Reserve and National Guard members qualify with full-time work for any Florida-based employer. It works the same on the cape as in Wewahitchka.
Florida Housing assistance can be used once in a lifetime, and only through a participating lender or broker, so it’s worth getting the right house and the right lender lined up first. Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll check that Hometown Heroes can be reserved for the Gulf County house you want.
FL Assist, HLP and HFA Preferred (statewide)
FL Assist is a 0% deferred second behind a Florida Housing first mortgage. There’s no monthly payment, it isn’t forgiven, and it’s repaid when you sell, refinance, transfer or move out. The HLP second is the payment option, with a small fixed monthly payment over 30 years. HFA Advantage PLUS goes with a Freddie Mac Conventional first and carries a second that’s forgiven over 5 years while you live in the home.
Florida Housing reserves these one loan at a time and adjusts its Gulf County limits during the year. Call us at 888-601-8344 from the cape or from town, and we’ll tell you which one your income and price line up with and whether it’s taking reservations.
FHA 100% financing puts a 96.5% FHA first mortgage together with a down payment assistance second, so the 3.5% doesn’t have to come out of your savings. Before you write an offer anywhere from St. Joe Beach to Wewahitchka, call 888-601-8344 and we’ll check which of these programs have money and how they work with your loan.
Property taxes and your homestead exemption
File for Florida’s homestead exemption on the home you live in full time. It can cut up to $50,000 from your taxable value, places the home under the Save Our Homes cap on yearly assessment increases, and lets you take some or all of that savings with you to your next Florida homestead.
Homestead goes by who owns the home on January 1, and the application (Form DR-501) is due to the Gulf County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you buy. Close on a Port St. Joe or Cape San Blas house any time during the year and that’s your first deadline.
If you use Gulf County SHIP money, keep that homestead in place. The county’s loan comes due if you lose the exemption, stop paying property taxes or let the fire and windstorm insurance lapse. Most buyers pay taxes and insurance through an escrow account, which keeps both current.
Gulf County Property Appraiser
Homestead filing and property records: Gulf County Property Appraiser
State homestead rules and the DR-501 form: Florida Department of Revenue brochure
Tax bills, tags and licenses: Gulf County Tax Collector
Storm surge, flood zones and insurance
Hurricane Michael made landfall on Oct. 10, 2018, as a Category 5 with 161 mph winds, and all of Gulf County was under an Extreme Wind Warning. Surge of 9 to 14 feet hit from Mexico Beach to Indian Pass and cut two new inlets through St. Joseph Peninsula State Park.
That’s the storm to measure a coastal house against. Ask how a home on the cape or the beach came through Michael, what was rebuilt afterward and to what standard, and get the flood zone before you get attached.
- Pull the flood zone from FEMA’s flood maps before you write an offer on the cape, the bay or the beach. If it lands in a high-risk zone, flood insurance is required on a federally backed loan.
- Find your evacuation zone on Gulf County Emergency Management’s Know Your Zone map.
- Get a homeowners quote before you’re under contract. On this stretch of coast the roof’s age weighs heavily on the price, and a wind mitigation inspection can bring the premium down.
- Sign up for Alert Gulf, the county’s emergency alert system. Emergency Management is at 1000 Cecil G. Costin Sr. Blvd., Port St. Joe, (850) 229-9110.
Jobs, schools and getting around
Gulf County’s tourism centers on Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, St. Joe Beach and Port St. Joe, and the county tourism office promotes it as the only Panhandle county with a sunset facing west over the Gulf. Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative runs its headquarters out of Wewahitchka, and Gulf Coast State College’s Gulf/Franklin Campus in Port St. Joe serves both Gulf and Franklin counties.
Schools and colleges
Public schools are run by the Gulf County School District.
For college, Gulf Coast State College’s Gulf/Franklin Campus is at 3800 Garrison St. in Port St. Joe.
Getting around
State Road 71 is the main north-south road, linking Port St. Joe north through Wewahitchka and Calhoun County toward Alabama.
Watch the clock when you drive across the county. The southern part runs on Eastern Time and the northern part on Central Time, with the line roughly following the Intracoastal Waterway, which passes Lake Wimico on its way across the county.
Beaches, bay and the local calendar
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park has ten miles of white sand beach with tall dunes on the Gulf side and salt marsh on the bay side, plus a wilderness preserve with 14 primitive campsites. It’s at 8899 Cape San Blas Road. Michael’s surge cut two inlets through the park in 2018, a reminder of how much this coast moves.
St. Joseph Bay
St. Joseph Bay is where people go shelling and bay scalloping, and the county tourism office publishes a guide to both. The St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve runs guided tram tours through the land behind the bay.
Dead Lakes and Indian Pass Lagoon
Dead Lakes and Indian Pass Lagoon are two of the named waterways the county tourism office features. The Intracoastal Waterway crosses the county too, roughly along the line where Eastern Time gives way to Central.
Fall concerts
The county puts on a Fall Concert Series in late October, and it’s one of the regular dates on the county tourism office’s calendar.
Lighthouse and honey
The county tourism office features the Cape San Blas Lighthouse and lists the Tupelo Honey Festival among Gulf County’s annual events.
The tourism office bills Gulf County as the only Panhandle county with a sunset facing west over the Gulf, and St. Joseph Peninsula is the place to test that claim.
Moving to Gulf County: your first-month checklist
- Electric: Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative, headquartered at 722 W. Highway 22 in Wewahitchka, serves parts of the county. Ask the seller or the cooperative which utility serves the house before closing.
- Water and sewer: Gulf County runs a county Water Department. Find out whether the house is on city water, county water or a private well and septic before you close.
- Driver license, tag and property tax: start with the Gulf County Tax Collector page.
- Homestead: the March 1 deadline after your closing year applies here too; file with the Gulf County Property Appraiser.
- County government: gulfcounty-fl.gov, 1000 Cecil G. Costin Sr. Blvd., Port St. Joe, FL 32456.
- Hurricane season: sign up for Alert Gulf and save Emergency Management’s number, (850) 229-9110.
Buying or refinancing in Gulf County with AAA Capital Funding
Buying a home
Most of our Gulf County buyers go FHA, with 3.5% down and flexible credit guidelines, and it works with the SHIP and statewide programs above. Eligible veterans can use VA with nothing down, and we also do Conventional loans, Hometown Heroes, DSCR loans for a rental on the cape, and FHA 100% financing.
AAA Capital Funding has been a licensed Florida mortgage broker since 1997, closing loans in all 67 counties statewide, so a house on the cape and one in Tallahassee or Tampa get the same team. Your loan gets shopped with multiple wholesale lenders, and you’ll know what you qualify for before you fall for a place on the cape.
Refinancing the home you have
Gulf County owners refinance to lower the monthly payment, take cash out for a roof or storm upgrades, pay off higher-interest debt, or buy someone else’s share of the home. A refinance lets the equity you’ve built do some work for you.
Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll set your Gulf County payment next to the new one, with the cash you’d take out and the closing costs on the same page, so you decide with real numbers.
Gulf County questions we hear a lot
What is the FHA loan limit in Gulf County?
Gulf County gets the standard limits rather than a high-cost figure. The loan limit table on this page lists the FHA limits for one to four units and the Conventional limit for one unit, and it updates itself each January when HUD and FHFA publish new numbers.
Is there down payment assistance in Gulf County?
Yes. Gulf County SHIP offers interest-free help to first-time buyers who already live in the county, in funding rounds through the SHIP office in Port St. Joe. Florida Housing’s statewide seconds, including Hometown Heroes and FL Assist, can be used here as well. Call us to find out what’s open before you write an offer.
When do I file for homestead in Gulf County?
File with the Gulf County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you buy, whether the house is on the cape or in town. Ownership on January 1 decides the year.
Is Gulf County on Eastern or Central time?
Both. The southern part of the county uses Eastern Time and the northern part uses Central Time, with the dividing line roughly following the Intracoastal Waterway. Check which one applies before you schedule a closing or an inspection.
Do I need flood insurance in Gulf County?
Yes, if FEMA puts the house in a high-risk flood zone and your mortgage is federally backed. Outside those zones it’s your call, but Michael’s surge ran 9 to 14 feet from Mexico Beach to Indian Pass, so price a flood policy either way.
Sources for this guide (24)
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Gulf County, FL
- Gulf County, Florida (Wikipedia, history and time zones)
- Calhoun County, Florida (Wikipedia, State Road 71)
- Visit Gulf County
- Gulf County SHIP program
- Florida Housing: Gulf County SHIP plan
- Florida Housing: Hometown Heroes
- Florida Housing: Homebuyer programs
- Florida Department of Revenue: Homestead exemption brochure
- Florida Department of Revenue: Property tax exemptions
- National Weather Service: Hurricane Michael
- Florida State Parks: T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula
- Gulf County Emergency Management
- Gulf County government
- Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative
- Gulf Coast State College: campus locations
- Florida Department of Education: school districts
- Visit Gulf: Shelling and scalloping
- Visit Gulf: Dead Lakes
- Visit Gulf: Indian Pass Lagoon
- Visit Gulf: Cape San Blas Lighthouse
- Visit Gulf: Tupelo Honey Festival
- Visit Gulf: Fall Concert Series
- Visit Gulf: St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve tram tours
AAA Capital Funding, Inc. NMLS #374739. Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700. Licensed Florida mortgage broker serving Gulf County and all 67 Florida counties since 1997. Equal Housing Opportunity.
You work with the same person from start to finish, in every county in Florida.
We've been closing Florida loans since 1997, in all 67 counties. If you want to know what's possible in Gulf County, call 888-601-8344 or text 954-816-8820. One call, under ten minutes. No application needed to start.
AAA Capital Funding, Inc. · NMLS #374739 · Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700