Frederiksted

The town

Frederiksted is St. Croix’s west-end town, and its historic district runs west to the sea. The 2020 Census counted 528 residents on less than a fifth of a square mile, down 38.5 percent from 859 in 2010. It is the smaller of the island’s two towns.

The Census Bureau’s Frederiksted subdistrict, a wider statistical area, had 2,303 residents in 2020, and the Frederiksted Southeast census designated place, just southeast of town, had 1,746.

Several government offices are here:

• DPNR’s Division of Permits has its St. Croix office at 45 Estate Mars Hill, Frederiksted.
• The State Historic Preservation Office’s St. Croix office is at the Fort Frederik Museum, 198 Strand Street.
• The Tax Collector takes tax clearance requests at its Frederiksted location, as well as in Sunny Isle.

Fort Frederik and the waterfront

Fort Frederik, the red-walled fort on the waterfront pictured on this page, now houses the Fort Frederik Museum, listed by DPNR’s Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums with weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. In June 2025, DPNR opened an exhibition there, “Tides of Freedom: Legacies of Resistance from the USVI to the USA,” whose themes include the July 3, 1848 Emancipation Uprising on St. Croix.

The Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility, “located in the heart of Frederiksted,” is the only cruise ship port on St. Croix, according to the Virgin Islands Port Authority. Its pier is 1,526 feet long, its south berth can take Voyager-class ships, and shops, restaurants and public restrooms are within walking distance.

The pier also shows the town’s storm history. The Port Authority says the original pier was built in the early 1900s and heavily damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. It opened as a cruise pier in 1994, was damaged again by Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, and a waterfront revitalization in the early 2000s gave the area its current form. The Legislature named the facility for Ann Elizabeth Christian Abramson, a former Public Works commissioner and Port Authority board member who helped revitalize Frederiksted.

Flooding is part of that history too. The territory’s flood insurance brochure, from the Division of Banking, Insurance and Financial Regulation, illustrates its flood section with photos of flooding in Frederiksted.

Nearby, Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, which has a Frederiksted address, provides nesting habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles. Its beach is closed to the public from roughly mid-April to August each year.

How people live here

Frederiksted is small and mostly rented, and a large share of its homes stood empty at the last census. VITRAN buses connect the town with Christiansted on routes 27-103 and 28-103.

Estimate as of October 2026. In the 2020 Census, 210 of Frederiksted town’s 251 occupied homes (84 percent) were rented, and 168 of its 419 housing units (40 percent) were vacant. About 80 percent of units reported a public water system and 31 percent a cistern, and 77 percent were on public sewer.

Housing you will find

Estimate as of October 2026. In the 2020 Census, 110 of Frederiksted town’s 419 housing units (26 percent) were detached single-family homes and 54 (13 percent) were attached single-unit homes. About 60 percent were in buildings with two or more units, including 70 units in buildings with 10 to 19 units and 43 in buildings with 20 or more. The median gross rent was $666 a month. Only 41 homes were owner-occupied, too few for a meaningful median value, so we do not report one.

Inside the historic district, the St. Croix Historic Preservation Committee reviews changes to buildings, from paint colors, windows and roofs to solar panels, additions, new construction and demolition. Its application asks whether a building’s use is commercial, residential or combined.

The district boundary shows how closely the town and the estates meet: it cites “Plot No. 40E of La Grange” where New Street meets Fisher Street. Beyond the town, explore the surrounding estates on our estates map.

Before you buy or rent

1. Historic district status. Check the DPNR boundary, ask the State Historic Preservation Office whether the building is inside it, and get changes approved before work starts. Ask the Division of Permits which permits the work also needs.
2. Flood risk. Look up the property on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center. The territory’s flood brochure notes that most standard homeowners and renters policies do not typically cover flood, which is separate coverage.
3. Coastal rules. For waterfront property, ask DPNR whether it is in Tier 1 of the coastal zone, where all proposed development is reviewed.
4. Condition and storm history. With so many vacant units in town, ask how long a building has been empty, what storm damage it has had and which repairs were permitted.
5. Insurance. Get quotes early. In 2023 the Division of Banking, Insurance and Financial Regulation warned that wooden or mixed-frame buildings may face non-renewal.
6. Water and sewer. Ask whether the building uses the public water system, a cistern or both, and whether it is on public sewer.
7. For renters. Ask which utilities you will pay, how the home is protected in storms and what happens to the lease if a storm makes it unlivable.

For the full process, read our St. Croix buyer’s guide or our renting resources. A home inspector can assess a specific building’s condition. To compare with the island’s larger town, see our Christiansted guide.