Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Starke grades D− overall, 606th among Florida's 634 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 89% of the country. The median household income is $52K, and 29% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: 4% of its land is conserved. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Starke, where Florida’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On history, just 77 of Florida’s 779 towns do better. Starke's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 84% of U.S. towns.
Where Starke beats most towns.
Where Starke’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 Starke is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 292 in 1880, 5,796 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Starke, 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 Starke.
Starke draws workers from Jacksonville and beyond and has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has poverty well above the Florida rate.
3,463 jobs are based in Starke, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Starke for work: only 16% work in town. Since 2013, Starke has lost 686 jobs, to 3,463 in 2023. The average trip to work in Starke is 28 minutes.
| Starke | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Bradford school district. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bradford High School, with 785 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starke Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 568 | B |
| Bradford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 785 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
34% of adults get no exercise outside work in Starke. Starke beats the Florida average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Starke.
| Starke | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 25% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 20% | 19% |
| What stands out | Starke | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.8% | 12.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.2% | 7.2% |
| More smokers | 19% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Home values rose 34% in five years, to about $236K, against 19% across Florida. The median property tax bill is $1,027, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Starke’s median rent is $840 a month. Typical home values rose 4.8% in the year to September 2026. 56% of Starke households own their home.
| Starke | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $840 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 56% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Starke.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Gainesville Rgnl Ap weather station, 20 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 277 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 42.8°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 86% of Florida places with climate records; July afternoons average 91.8°.
Starke has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Starke | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Starke | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veteran Memorial Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Wainwright Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Starke; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Starke residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
3 places in Starke on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Starke.
City in Florida, United States
Starke is a city in and the county seat of Bradford County, Florida, United States. The 2025 estimated population was 6,000. The origin of the city's name is disputed. Starke may have been named in honor of local landowner George W. Cole's fiancée's family or in honor of Madison Starke Perry, fourth governor of Florida.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Starke grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #606 of 634 in Florida. It grades D for health and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
9 notable people were born here, including Judy Canova and Charley Eugene Johns.
