Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Live Oak grades D overall, ranked 505th of 634 in Florida, mostly because of incomes. The median household income is $59K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns. 25% of working residents work locally in Live Oak, against 5% in Florida’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On history, just 36 of Florida’s 779 towns do better. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Live Oak beats most towns.
Bishop B. Blackwell HouseWhere Live Oak’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Live Oak is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 458 in 1880, 6,735 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1961 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Live Oak, 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 Live Oak.
Live Oak draws workers from Jacksonville and beyond and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
4,953 jobs are based in Live Oak, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 21.2 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
About one in 4 of Live Oak’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Live Oak is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Live Oak has added 555 jobs, to 4,953 in 2023.
| Live Oak | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Suwannee school district. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Suwannee High School, with 1,167 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suwannee Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 971 | C+ |
| Suwannee High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,167 | C |
| Suwannee Opportunity SchoolTop results in townGrades 1–12 | Grades 1–12 | 66 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Since 1980, 91 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Live Oak.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $1,361, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Live Oak home is worth about $253,000, up 2.4% in a year, 32% below the Florida typical home. 47% of households own their home in Live Oak.
| Live Oak | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $903 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The nearest emergency room, HCA Florida Lake City Hospital, is 21.6 miles away in a straight line. Against the 8,750 U.S. towns with household incomes like Live Oak’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Live Oak beats the Florida average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 44% of Live Oak adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Live Oak | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 25% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Live Oak | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.5% | 12.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.1% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.4% | 16.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Live Oak weather station records that about 116 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. The Live Oak weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 292 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 83% of Florida places with climate records.
Live Oak has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Live Oak’s July high is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is First Federal Park and Sportsplex, at 38 acres.
| Live Oak | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. First Federal Park and Sportsplex | 0.2 mi | 38 |
| 2. John H. Hale Community Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Live Oak; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Live Oak residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
6 places in Live Oak on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Live Oak.
City in Florida, United States
Live Oak is a city and the county seat of Suwannee County, Florida, United States. The city is midway between Tallahassee and Jacksonville. As of the 2020 census, Live Oak had a population of 6,735. U.S. Highway 90, U.S. Highway 129 and Interstate 10 are major highways running through Live Oak. Freight service is provided by the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, which acquired most of the former CSX main line from Pensacola to Jacksonville on June 1, 2019. It is served by the Suwannee County Airport as well as many private airparks scattered throughout the county. There is also a community named Live Oak in Washington County, Florida.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Live Oak grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #505 of 634 in Florida. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($56,658 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
16 notable people were born here, including Kevarrius Hayes and William Newsome.
