City · Okeechobee County, Florida

Okeechobee, Florida

Okeechobee is a city in Okeechobee County, Florida, part of the Okeechobee, FL metro area. It has 5,479 residents. Okeechobee, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,931 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #702 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), public transit commuters (high) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on distance to an emergency room (high), preventable hospital stays (high) and food environment index (low).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,931 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #702 of 780 in FL
Population: 5,479 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,351.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 1251200

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety15#13,340/15,637
Economy32#10,589/15,631
Housing24#11,434/14,977
Health8#14,323/15,609
Healthcare5#14,927/15,650
Environment64#5,622/15,453
Education46#8,408/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,409/15,650
Community1#15,442/15,651
Leisure & amenities42#9,133/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Okeechobee, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Okeechobee 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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
96/100Florida 27 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauOkeechobee County value
Public transit commuters · high6.8%
95/100Florida 1.2%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
New homes permitted · high13.9 /1k
92/100Florida 7.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Comfortable days · high32.7%
89/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationOkeechobee County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low120 min
87/100Florida 158 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOkeechobee County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Florida 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOkeechobee County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an emergency room · high31.5 mi
0/100Florida 4.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOkeechobee County value
Preventable hospital stays · high5,490 /100k
1/100Florida 3,204 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOkeechobee County value
Food environment index · low5.2
2/100Florida 7.1United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOkeechobee County value
Firearm deaths · high29.0 /100k
3/100Florida 12.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOkeechobee County value
Natural hazard risk · high95.9
4/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyOkeechobee County value
Traffic deaths · high34.8 /100k
5/100Florida 15.3 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataOkeechobee County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
2.5 /1k (2021) → 13.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+463%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.7% (2015-2019) → 84.3% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
61.7% (2015-2019) → 43.1% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
31.5% (2015-2019) → 15.9% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
10.3% (2015-2019) → 21.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
33.7% (2015-2019) → 24.2% (2020-2024)
−9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Okeechobee, Florida improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++11 points10.3% → 21.1%
Broadband+19 points65.7% → 84.3%
Household income+37%$41,570 → $57,044

Declined1

Price / income+0.7×2.7× → 3.5×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Okeechobee, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.2 min2015-2019	25.6 min2020-2024	+7.4 min	Within the margin of error	5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.3%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	92%
Broadband subscriptions	65.7%2015-2019	84.3%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	88%
Effective property tax rate	1.17%2015-2019	0.89%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
High school diploma or higher	79.0%2015-2019	85.8%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4132015-2019	0.3862020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$41,5702015-2019	$57,0442020-2024	+37%	Improved	69%
Poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Rent as share of income	33.7%2015-2019	24.2%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Rent-burdened households	61.7%2015-2019	43.1%2020-2024	−19 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.4%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 Okeechobee, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Okeechobee, 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, Okeechobee, Florida itself moved +14.3 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

5,479 residents (±21)

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

2,053 households (±243)

Okeechobee, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k15%†309
$25k–50k28%†576
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,053 households (±243)

Okeechobee, Florida
Florida share

Own55%1,132
Rent45%921

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

2,448 workers (±326)

Okeechobee, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone78%1,909
Carpool5.7%†139
Public transit6.8%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Okeechobee, FL

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 Okeechobee County, the county holding most of Okeechobee's residents.

Okeechobee County has 922 employer establishments, 222 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Florida's), with 7,980 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,496. The Census Bureau also counts 3,214 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 922; 3,214 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 222; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 7,980
Average annual pay: $42,496; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	112	26.9	1.74×More than typical	455	$42,279	298
Ambulatory health care services	84	20.2	0.97×About typical	676	$54,157	168
Lessors of real estate	46	11.1	0.90×About typical	102	$40,441	261
Restaurants and other eating places	46	11.1	0.60×Fewer than typical	850	$19,436	19
Services to buildings and dwellings	43	10.3	1.53×More than typical	236	$35,581	340
Truck transportation	39	9.4	1.86×More than typical	281	$73,267	153
Building equipment contractors	37	8.9	1.48×More than typical	183	$49,268	64
Landscaping services	34	8.2	2.33×More than typical	222	$36,297	131
Offices of physicians	33	7.9	1.23×About typical	192	$71,932	21
Construction of buildings	30	7.2	0.95×About typical	106	$51,283	112
Other specialty trade contractors	29	7	2.78×More than typical	83	$56,566	127
Automotive repair and maintenance	28	6.7	1.34×More than typical	106	$36,651	80

Rank places for an industry Open Okeechobee County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 41,575 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Okeechobee, Florida: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

TROPICAL TOWER SERVICE, INC.$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

5.7KFY2017
13.8KFY2018
4.5KFY2019
109.6KFY2020
465.4FY2021
4.3KFY2022
13.3KFY2023
25.1KFY2024
-508.3FY2025
0FY2026

What was bought

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 Okeechobee, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Okeechobee 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.

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

House

Scott FranklinR-FL-18 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.7%

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.

Okeechobee County12100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Okeechobee, FL7

Other cities and towns in Okeechobee County

Largest first.

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/1251200

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends