City · Suwannee County, Florida

Live Oak, Florida

Live Oak is a city in Suwannee County, Florida. It has 6,985 residents. Live Oak, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 2 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,357 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #772 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), depression (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), homicide rate (high) and primary care physicians (low).

2Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,357 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #772 of 780 in FL
Population: 6,985 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 915.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1240875

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety0#15,586/15,637
Economy20#12,521/15,631
Housing22#11,646/14,977
Health16#13,145/15,609
Healthcare2#15,308/15,650
Environment34#10,139/15,453
Education26#11,638/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,612/15,650
Community13#13,654/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,289/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Live Oak, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Suwannee County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child care cost burden · low21.4%
90/100Florida 25.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSuwannee County value
Depression · low18.4%
90/100Florida 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · high32.7%
89/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSuwannee County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Florida 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSuwannee County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Florida 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySuwannee County value
Math scores · high3.17
69/100Florida 3.28United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSuwannee County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high43.4 /100k
1/100Florida 15.6 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSuwannee County value
Homicide rate · high21.7 /100k
1/100Florida 4.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSuwannee County value
Primary care physicians · low9 /100k
1/100Florida 73 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSuwannee County value
Firearm deaths · high32.5 /100k
2/100Florida 12.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSuwannee County value
Drought exposure · high100%
2/100Florida 78%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASuwannee County value
Distance to an emergency room · high21.5 mi
2/100Florida 4.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSuwannee County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.2% (2015-2019) → 89.0% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
6.9 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−94%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
28.3% (2015-2019) → 11.0% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
20.7% (2015-2019) → 7.3% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateImproving
29.2% (2015-2019) → 18.2% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,859 (2015-2019) → $59,375 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Live Oak, Florida improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Uninsured−13 points20.7% → 7.3%
Broadband+24 points65.2% → 89.0%

Declined1

Bachelor's+−17 points28.3% → 11.0%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Live Oak, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	21.2 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.3%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	−17 points	Declined	0%
Broadband subscriptions	65.2%2015-2019	89.0%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	94%
Child poverty rate	29.2%2015-2019	18.2%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Effective property tax rate	1.11%2015-2019	0.98%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	86.6%2015-2019	90.0%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	55%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4262015-2019	0.4102020-2024	−0.016	Within the margin of error	65%
Median household income	$47,8592015-2019	$59,3752020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	42%
Poverty rate	13.6%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	18.3%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent-burdened households	31.3%2015-2019	34.7%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.7%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−13 points	Improved	99%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Live Oak, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Live Oak, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Live Oak, Florida itself moved −2.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

6,985 residents (±18)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,207 households (±257)

Live Oak, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k20%†433
$25k–50k19%†425
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,207 households (±257)

Live Oak, Florida
Florida share

Own47%1,028
Rent53%1,179

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,115 workers (±407)

Live Oak, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone83%2,570
Carpool9.0%†281
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Suwannee County, the county holding most of Live Oak's residents.

Suwannee County has 755 employer establishments, 163 for every 10,000 residents (0.66× the US rate of 248; 0.58× Florida's), with 9,268 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,769. The Census Bureau also counts 3,703 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 755; 3,703 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 163; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 9,268
Average annual pay: $40,769; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Suwannee County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	70	15.1	0.98×About typical	365	$42,408	326
Restaurants and other eating places	51	11	0.60×Fewer than typical	941	$18,887	30
Ambulatory health care services	36	7.8	0.37×Fewer than typical	219	$63,406	148
Lessors of real estate	32	6.9	0.56×Fewer than typical	254	$36,957	204
Religious organizations	32	6.9	1.25×About typical	123	$25,073	—
Gasoline stations	29	6.3	1.93×More than typical	378	$25,754	—
Construction of buildings	28	6	0.80×Fewer than typical	87	$38,563	161
Limited-service restaurants	28	6	0.75×Fewer than typical	575	$17,849	5
Services to buildings and dwellings	28	6	0.90×About typical	166	$38,849	430
Truck transportation	28	6	1.20×About typical	84	$38,381	259
Other specialty trade contractors	20	4.3	1.72×More than typical	183	$45,262	128
Automotive repair and maintenance	18	3.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	67	$44,060	74

Rank places for an industry Open Suwannee County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 46,308 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $19K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Live Oak, Florida: $2.72 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $19K; −30% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.72; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Emergency Management Agency$19K100%

Top recipients

LIVE OAK PINES MHC LLC$19K100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

457.4KFY2017
533.3KFY2018
240.3KFY2019
388.2KFY2020
588.4KFY2021
588.4KFY2022
883.2KFY2023
912K

Top industries (NAICS)

RV parks and recreational camps · 7212$19K100.0%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Live Oak, Florida

THIS AWARD IS FOR COMMERCIAL PAD LEASE UNDER DR-4828-FL. THIS ACTION IS APPROVED UNDER SECTION 2(D) OF E.O., IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT'S "DOGE" COST EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE IN SUPPORT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.$56.2K
LIVE OAK PINES MHC LLC· Suwannee County, FL· Construction & real property· Apr 17, 2025 – Apr 28, 2026· 70FBR425P00000130

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Live Oak, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Live Oak is mostly in Suwannee County.

See federal money in Suwannee County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Live Oak, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Kat CammackR-FL-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Suwannee County7100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Suwannee County

Largest first.

Branford950

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1240875

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends