with red cross (as a direct allusion and symbol of the name of the County). On a heraldic chief of red is a gold castle with towers, with masonry joints in black, and with the windows and doors in red (in recognition of the fortress that was constructed in the military garrison of St. Augustine which is a part of the County). An overall border is composed of eight parts; alternating, a red quadrilateral, with a gold castle and quadrilateral of silver with a purple lion rampant (that is to say, alternating the simplified Arms of Castille and Leon). Given for a crest is a mural crown of a province. This is a circle of gold walls with in reality twelve gold towers with all the masonry joints in black. Only seven of the towers are visible in the drawing. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (26.9%) is water. Adjacent counties Duval County, Florida – north Flagler County, Florida – south Putnam County, Florida – southwest Clay County, Florida – west National protected areas Castillo de San Marcos National Monument Fort Matanzas National Monument Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve Demographics As of the 2020 United States census, there were 273,425 people, 91,253 households, and 67,548 families residing in the county. As of the census of 2000, there were 123,135 people, 49,614 households, and 34,084 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 58,008 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.92% White, 6.29% African American, 0.26% American Indian, 0.95% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.8% of the population. There were 49,614 households, of which 29.2% had children under age 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.90. The age of the population was spread out, with 23.1% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were