North Central Florida · Bradford County

Living in Starke, Florida

Starke is a city in Bradford County, with about 5,877 people.1 It feels small-town or low-density suburban, at 819 people per square mile.1,3

5,8771people
$214,3001median home value
$840/mo1median rent
371median age

Nearest 24-hour emergency room

Ascension St. Vincent's Clay County, in Middleburg, about 15 miles away.2

Straight-line distance from the town's center; driving is longer. Freestanding ERs and urgent care aren't counted.

Life in North Central Florida

Florida's college-town and horse-country middle: Gainesville and the University of Florida, Ocala's thoroughbred farms, and The Villages, the giant retirement community.4,5,6,7,8

Hazards: Hurricanes arrive weaker than on the coast, but wind, falling trees, long power outages and flooding still reach inland. Mobile and manufactured homes should evacuate; Marion County's own hurricane guidance says so.9,10

Read the free North Central Florida preview, including the region's state-certified visitor centers.

The full Starke town card

Choosing Your Place has the complete card for Starke and 779 other places:

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Written by Charles Squires, North Port, Florida. 40 years living in Florida, in eight places.

I called on schools in Sumter County and across this part of the state.

More about the author and how this manual is made

"Median" means half are above and half below. Figures are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for Starke as a Census-defined place; the area a mailing address calls Starke can be larger.

Notes

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024
  2. CMS Hospital General Information (Care Compare)
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (places)
  4. Gainesville climate, 1991–2020 normals (Wikipedia, from NOAA)
  5. University of Florida (Wikipedia)
  6. Ocala, Florida (Wikipedia)
  7. The Villages, Florida (Wikipedia)
  8. Ocala National Forest (Wikipedia)
  9. Marion County QuickFacts (U.S. Census Bureau)
  10. Hurricane Preparedness (Marion County Sheriff's Office)