St. Croix vs. St. John

St. Croix and St. John sit at opposite ends of the U.S. Virgin Islands on almost every measure. St. Croix is the largest island, with two towns and a countryside of estates. St. John is the smallest, and most of it is national park. The figures below come from the public sources listed at the end.

USVI Realty is an educational resource. We do not list property, represent anyone or rank one island above the other.

At a glance

Figures are 2020 Census counts unless noted. Park figures come from the National Park Service and hospital listings from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Which island is bigger and busier?

St. Croix, by far. It has about 83 square miles of land, more than four times St. John’s 19.7, and the 2020 Census counted 41,004 residents there against 3,881 on St. John. That is roughly 490 people per square mile of land on St. Croix and about 200 on St. John.

Both islands lost people between 2010 and 2020, but St. Croix lost a much larger share: 19.0 percent, against 6.9 percent on St. John. The number of homes rose on both, by 5.6 percent on St. John and 0.8 percent on St. Croix.

People are spread out differently, too:

• St. Croix has nine Census subdistricts and two towns, Christiansted (1,770 residents in 2020) and Frederiksted (528), so most people live in the countryside. The Sion Farm subdistrict alone had 10,332.
• St. John has four subdistricts. The Cruz Bay census designated place had 2,772 residents, and Coral Bay had 615.

Our island guides cover St. Croix and St. John, and our area guides cover Christiansted, Frederiksted, Cruz Bay and Coral Bay.

How much of each island is national park?

This is the sharpest difference. The National Park Service says two-thirds of St. John is national park. The park has 7,259 acres of land, which the Park Service puts at about 60 percent of the island’s land mass, plus 5,650 acres of submerged lands. Its rules reach into daily life; the 2026 compendium, for example, prohibits pets on park beaches. See living in St. John.

St. Croix’s Park Service sites are much smaller:

• Christiansted National Historic Site covers just over seven acres in town. Established in 1952, it was the first Park Service unit in the Virgin Islands.
• Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve covers 1,015 acres of land and water and is managed jointly by the Park Service and the Government of the Virgin Islands.
• Buck Island Reef National Monument centers on a 176-acre island offshore. The Park Service says it can be reached only by boat, from downtown Christiansted or Green Cay Marina.

Even counting all of Salt River Bay’s acres, the two sites on St. Croix itself total about 1,020 acres, against about 53,000 acres of land on the island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge adds what it calls crucial nesting habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles.

How does housing compare?

St. Croix has about seven times as many homes, and a different mix:

• Occupancy. At the time of the count, 71.0 percent of St. Croix homes were occupied, against 50.9 percent on St. John. A quarter of St. John’s homes, 25.1 percent, were held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, compared with 5.4 percent on St. Croix.
• Owning and renting. Owners lived in 55.7 percent of St. Croix’s occupied homes. On St. John, renters were the majority, at 51.3 percent. In numbers, that was 8,011 rented homes on St. Croix and 952 on St. John.
• Size and age. Detached single-family houses made up 57.0 percent of homes on St. Croix and 51.9 percent on St. John, and the median home had 4.6 rooms on St. Croix against 3.8 on St. John. About two-thirds of St. Croix homes were built before 1990, while about three in four St. John homes were built in 1980 or later.
• Water and wastewater. The public water system was a source for 42.1 percent of St. Croix homes and 20.5 percent on St. John, where 20.6 percent used a water truck or delivery vendor. Homes could report more than one source. Septic tanks or cesspools served 59.2 percent of St. Croix homes and 72.7 percent on St. John.

Estimate as of October 2026. In the 2020 Census, the median value of owner-occupied homes was $247,090 on St. Croix and $591,160 on St. John, and the median gross rent was $822 a month on St. Croix and $1,283 on St. John. These are 2020 figures, not current prices or rents. Ask licensed local professionals for today’s numbers.

Our guides to USVI home prices and long-term rentals explain where to find current figures.

How do you get there and between them?

St. Croix has its own airport

The Port Authority says Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) is about six miles southwest of Christiansted, is served by major domestic carriers and has daily inter-island flights. Ferries use the Gallows Bay Marine Facility, about a mile from downtown Christiansted.

St. John is reached by boat

“There are no airports on St. John,” the Park Service notes, so you fly into Cyril E. King Airport (STT) on St. Thomas and cross by passenger ferry or car barge from Red Hook. The Port Authority says that crossing takes approximately 15 minutes. It also lists passenger ferries to Cruz Bay from downtown Charlotte Amalie and from Crown Bay.

Getting between the two

The Port Authority lists no ferry between St. Croix and St. John, so trips go through St. Thomas, about 40 miles north of St. Croix. These are the published options:

1. Fly, then ferry. Fly from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport to St. Thomas, then travel to Red Hook for a ferry or car barge.
2. Ferry, then ferry. Take the passenger ferry from Gallows Bay to the Blyden Terminal in downtown Charlotte Amalie, which the Port Authority says also links downtown with Cruz Bay.
3. Seaplane, then ferry. The Port Authority’s terminal pages describe daily seaplane service between Water Gut in Christiansted and downtown Charlotte Amalie, next to the Blyden Terminal, and refer travelers to Seaborne Airlines. Seaborne’s home page did not mention seaplanes when we checked in October 2026, so confirm with the operator before you plan on it.

Estimate as of October 2026. The Port Authority lists the St. Croix ferry Thursday through Monday, leaving Gallows Bay at 8:00 a.m. and arriving in Charlotte Amalie at 10:10 a.m., with the return at 3:00 p.m., for $60 one way. It lists Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay departures at 10:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and Red Hook to Cruz Bay passenger ferries until 11:30 p.m. at $6 one way for residents and $8.15 for non-residents. A temporary schedule is posted for July 26 to October 31, 2026. Confirm with the operators.

Few people commute between the two. In the 2020 Census, 0.6 percent of St. Croix workers worked on another island of the territory, against 6.8 percent of St. John workers.

What services does each island have?

St. Croix has more of the territory’s large institutions, while St. John relies on St. Thomas for some of them:

• Hospital. CMS lists two acute care hospitals in the territory, both with emergency services: the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center on St. Croix and Roy Lester Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas. St. John has none. In 2021, the territory’s Office of Disaster Recovery said St. John’s Myrah Keating Smith Health Center provides 24-hour emergency and outpatient services from a modular facility, pending a FEMA-approved replacement for the building hurricanes closed in 2017. Check its current services.
• Schools. The Department of Education’s St. Croix District registers students at 2133 Hospital Street in Christiansted. St. John is part of the St. Thomas/St. John District, which registers students at Crown Bay on St. Thomas. The department’s list of registered non-public schools includes 15 on St. Croix and 2 on St. John.
• College. The University of the Virgin Islands has two campuses: the Albert A. Sheen Campus in Kingshill, St. Croix, and the Orville E. Kean Campus on St. Thomas.
• Government offices. The Recorder of Deeds has an office at 1131 King Street in Christiansted, while St. John deeds go to the St. Thomas-St. John office on St. Thomas. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles has offices in Kingshill and in the Government Complex in Cruz Bay, and WAPA has customer service offices at the Sunny Isle Shopping Annex on St. Croix and at Market Place on St. John.
• Buses. The Department of Public Works runs VITRAN buses on both islands, including Christiansted to Frederiksted and Cruz Bay to Salt Pond in Coral Bay.

Find providers and offices in our healthcare, schools and government offices directories.

How do work and commuting compare?

St. Croix had 15,381 employed residents in 2020 and St. John 1,967. Their job mixes lean different ways:

Government workers made up 28.2 percent of employed residents on St. Croix and 13.1 percent on St. John. Self-employed workers, counted together with unpaid family workers, were 9.1 percent and 18.0 percent.

Commutes averaged about 16 minutes on both islands. On St. John, 13.0 percent of workers walked, against 2.2 percent on St. Croix, where 77.1 percent drove alone.

Estimate as of October 2026. The 2020 Census put median household income for 2019 at $39,445 on St. Croix and $50,352 on St. John. These figures are from the last full count and are not current earnings.

Which island fits you?

There is no single right answer, but the figures suggest some questions to ask yourself:

• How often will you fly? St. Croix has its own airport. From St. John, every flight starts with a boat ride to St. Thomas.
• How much room do you want? St. Croix has more than four times the land and about seven times the homes.
• Do you want to live beside a national park? About two-thirds of St. John is parkland.
• Which services do you need nearby? St. Croix has a hospital, a university campus and more non-public schools; St. John has a health center.
• What can you budget? In 2020, median home values and rents were far lower on St. Croix. Check current prices with licensed professionals.

If you can, spend time on both islands before you decide. Next, read Living in St. Croix and Living in St. John, or weigh all three islands in Which USVI Island Is Right for You? For the other pairings, see St. Thomas vs. St. Croix and St. John vs. St. Thomas.