Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lake City grades C overall, ranked 413th of 634 in Florida, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 75% of Florida towns on state tests and graduation and it has 9 miles of trail. On the other side, CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 88% of the country. 27% of working residents work locally in Lake City, against 5% in Florida’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 40 of Florida’s 779 towns do better. Lake City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns.
Where Lake City beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1821, comes before those of 97% of the Florida towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 131 in 1850, a low of 131 in 1850, 12,329 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 2 maps from 1963 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Lake City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake City, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Lake City.
Lake City carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Florida (mostly hurricanes), draws workers from Jacksonville and beyond and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Florida.
12,424 jobs are based in Lake City, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Lake City’s working residents works in town. 20% of residents live below the poverty line in Lake City. Since 2013, Lake City has added 762 jobs, to 12,424 in 2023.
| Lake City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Columbia school district. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 809 | B |
| Pathways AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 94 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
41% of Lake City adults have obesity. Lake City beats the Florida average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 25% of Lake City adults worry about having enough food.
| Lake City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 32% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Lake City | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8% | 9.1% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.5% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
8.7 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Alligator Lake Park, 707 acres with 7.4 miles of trail.
| Lake City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.7% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Alligator Lake Park | 7.4 mi | 707 |
| 2. Southside Sports Complex | — | 159 |
| 3. Annie Mattox Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Lake City home is worth about $261,000, about the same as a year ago, 30% below the Florida typical home. The median rent in Lake City is $1,040 a month.
| Lake City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 40% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,040 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Lake City 2 E weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 273 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 89% of Florida places with climate records. January nights average 41.1°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 91% of Florida places with climate records; July afternoons average 91.8°.
Lake City has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Lake City’s January low is 41°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Lake City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 41°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of Florida towns, with expected losses of about $276 per resident a year; that rating is what its B− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1984, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lake City's reported crime rate is well above Florida's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 52 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Lake City | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.6 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lake City
About 5 of every 100 Lake City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Where Lake City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Lake City on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Lake City.
City in Florida, United States
Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, composed of Columbia County, as well as a principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida. Lake City is 60 miles west of Jacksonville. Lake City has the moniker The Gateway to Florida because it is adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 75 and Interstate 10.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lake City.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City | #413 | C | C+ | — | A− | D |
| Watertown | #377 | C | B+ | — | A− | D− |
| Five Points | — | — | — | — | A− | D |
Five Points has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lake City, Watertown and Five Points report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lake City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lake City grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #413 of 634 in Florida. It grades D for health and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($59,205 across the Lake City, FL area).
23 notable people were born here, including Susie Wiles and Grace Elizabeth.
