Lake City, FL

Micro Area Profile

71,789 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Lake City, FL micropolitan area.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 29% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity807th of 835 metro and micro areas measured17
SchoolsTop 31% of 695 metro and micro areas measured65
GrowthTop 46% of 834 metro and micro areas measured52
Housing affordabilityTop 46% of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
ClimateTop 1% of 835 metro and micro areas measured90
Physical resilience682nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured29
AccessTop 4% of 835 metro and micro areas measured99
Economic stability670th of 835 metro and micro areas measured26
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places Lake City in the bottom 3%.

In the public schools here, 63% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.1 students for every teacher.

199 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
71,789
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,205
Bottom 24% nationally
Density
90/sq mi
797.4 sq mi of land
Median age
40.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Florida
Nearest major airport
LCQ
4 mi · Lake City Gateway
Median home value
$194,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.9% — higher than in all but 8% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.4% over the past year, to 25,183 employed residents.

Median household income of $59,205 is lower than in 76% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,2902024 ACS 5-Year$59,205Bottom 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4672024 ACS 5-Year$29,367Bottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.2%Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.5 minBottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%Bottom 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%49th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202625,183Bottom 35%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−5.1%Bottom 8%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.4%Bottom 35%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202626,75736th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year68.5%Bottom 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%12th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.9%Bottom 5%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.9%Bottom 8%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%46th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.92.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.9% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.1 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.1
across 14 of them
Math proficiency
62.9%
Top 25% in Florida
Reading proficiency
59.3%
Top 17% in Florida
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Columbia High SchoolCOLUMBIA1,71123.148%48%
Fort White High SchoolCOLUMBIA1,10116.958%51%
Belmont Academy · charterCOLUMBIA82820.785%85%
Lake City Middle SchoolCOLUMBIA80918.858%51%
Westside Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA69517.477%73%
Eastside Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA65518.779%71%
Fort White Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA64417.460%63%
Melrose Park Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA63516.348%50%
Columbia City Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA58516.370%64%
Summers Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA49215.959%52%
Richardson Sixth Grade AcademyCOLUMBIA45516.974%60%
Pinemount Elementary SchoolCOLUMBIA44814.981%74%

54.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,434 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.74% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,318, some 35% above the $976 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,318 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $52,700 a year, about 89% of the median household income here of $59,205.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $976 a month.

A median home at $194,900 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $66,942, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,318
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$976
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$194,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lake City’s median household income of $59,205, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year72.5%67th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±402024 ACS 5-Year30,30043rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,034Bottom 31%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,580Bottom 38%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,318Bottom 28%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$522024 ACS 5-Year$976Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,5822024 ACS 5-Year$194,90042nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$752024 ACS 5-Year$1,43432nd percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,5722024 ACS 5-Year$66,942Bottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.74%42nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%Bottom 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2152024 ACS 5-Year58937th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%51st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%47th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4512024 ACS 5-Year2,87032nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

52/ 100
Top 46% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 73,977 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 73,977 residents in 2024, up 0.9% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 199 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
199
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 48% nationally
Year over year
+1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202474k70k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

10 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 41°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 54.0 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LAKE CITY 2 E, 3.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals54.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals101991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

29 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 43% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
WildfireModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, tornado, earthquake, strong wind, drought, landslide, winter weather, hail, coastal flooding, ice storm, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Lake City Gateway at 4 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year89.1%Top 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle4 miTop 2%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lake City GatewayLCQ4 mi8,003 ft
Valdosta RgnlVLD55 mi8,003 ft
Jacksonville IntlJAX59 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
51
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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