County food-access profile · Florida
Citrus County, FL
Citrus County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 46.2%
- low-access pop.
- 4
- food-desert tracts
- 12.0%
- on SNAP
- 162K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
46.2% of Citrus County residents live in a low-access area, and 4 of its 27 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 14
- low-access tracts
- 22K
- food-desert residents
- 4.3%
- households, no vehicle
- 15.6%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Citrus County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 46.2% is well above the national share. 14 of the county's 27 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 65,214 people. 4 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 22,123 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Citrus County compares nationally
Citrus County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 46.2% low-access share outpaces 92% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #260 most-affected nationwide.
Citrus County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 27 census tracts in Citrus County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Citrus County vs. other Florida counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Florida
- Citrus
Citrus County, FL
46.2 % low-access
- Alachua 19.2
Alachua County, FL
19.2 % low-access
- Baker
Baker County, FL
55.6 % low-access
- Bay
Bay County, FL
31.5 % low-access
- Bradford 1.1
Bradford County, FL
1.1 % low-access
- Brevard
Brevard County, FL
41.8 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 27 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 141,236 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 14 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 4 |
| Low-Access Population | 65,214 |
| Low-Access Share | 46.2%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 22,123 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 162,472 |
| Median Household Income | $56,546 |
| Poverty Rate | 15.6%near the national average |
| SNAP Households | 8,574 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 12.0%near the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.3%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.7% |
About 12.0% of Citrus County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 46.2% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 12.0% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 8,574 households here.
- 4.3% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 4 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Citrus County
well above the national share
4 of Citrus County's 27 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 14.8% of all its tracts.
A further 10 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 14.
An estimated 65,214 residents, roughly 46.2% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 22,123 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 13 tracts (48.1%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Citrus County
Citrus County has 117 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 8 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 55 locations (47% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 55
- 7 eleven store 42245a, lecanto
- 7-eleven 38561a, homosassa
- 7-eleven 38841h, inverness
- 7-eleven 38669a, homosassa
- circle k 2705995, lecanto
- circle k 2707211, floral city
- circle k 2707489, crystal river
- circle k 2707497, homosassa
- circle k 2707696, inverness
- circle k 2721286, crystal river
- circle k 2722119, hernando
- circle k 2726279, crystal river
- citgo gas station, inverness
- citgo hernando food mart, hernando
- community shop of withlapopka islands, floral city
- crystal river shell 173, crystal river
- dunnellon sunoco, dunnellon
- floral city foods, floral city
- flowers bakery outlet 50000021, inverness
- ganesha food store, floral city
- hilltop food store, inverness
- holder food store, holder
- homosossa country store, homosassa
- ibad food mart, citrus springs
- jiffy 1575, homosassa
- kwik king, crystal river
- kwik king (lecanto food mart), lecanto
- kwik stop citgo, homosassa
- lakeside convenience store, hernando
- lecanto food mart, lecanto
- liquor plus, floral city
- murphy usa 7867, inverness
- party store hernando, hernando
- quick save 2 discount beverage, homosassa
- quick save discount beverages, homosassa
- quik stop, hernando
- quik trip mobil, hernando
- race trac 195, homosassa
- race trac 286, crystal river
- race trac 59, crystal river
- race trac 97, inverness
- racetrac 2456, lecanto
- rutabaga's etc., inverness
- s & s food and bev 1, inverness
- sai food mart, inverness
- shell circle k homosassa, homosassa
- shell food mart, beverly hills
- speedway 6528, inverness
- stricklands convenient store, homosassa
- suncoast gas, llc 42257a, homosassa
- sunoco crystal river, crystal river
- super discount, crystal river
- texaco food mart, homosassa springs
- wawa store 5320, lecanto
- zavian food mart, inverness
Combination Grocery/Other · 36
- cvs pharmacy 7998, hernando
- cvs pharmacy 3103, crystal river
- cvs pharmacy 3171, inverness
- chopping block, lecanto
- dollar general 10975, crystal river
- dollar general 13280, crystal river
- dollar general 13792, crystal river
- dollar general 1392, inverness
- dollar general 14249, hernando
- dollar general 14308, homosassa
- dollar general 1560, crystal river
- dollar general 4017, beverly hills
- dollar general 4852, homosassa
- dollar general 6090, floral city
- dollar general 9269, hernando
- darren's discount groceries of floral city, floral city
- dollar general 11449, dunnellon
- dollar general 12325, hernando
- dollar general 12992, lecanto
- dollar general 13397, hernando
- dollar general 15031, inverness
- dollar tree 2808, crystal river
- dollar tree 312, inverness
- dollar tree 5736, homosassa
- dollar tree 6500, beverly hills
- family dollar 8714, crystal river
- family dollar 9211, floral city
- family dollar store 10558, homosassa
- family dollar store 10719, citrus springs
- family dollar store 5329, inverness
- walgreens 4217, homosassa
- walgreens 5338, crystal river
- walgreens 5691, inverness
- walgreens 5980, hernando
- walgreens 9747, homosassa
- walgreens 9847, beverly hills
Supermarket · 12
- aldi 74090, lecanto
- aldi 74198, homosassa
- aldi 74224, crystal river
- publix 0475, hernando
- publix 0797, crystal river
- publix 1193, homosassa
- publix 518, homosassa
- publix 1448, inverness
- save a lot 30012, inverness
- save a lot 30028, crystal river
- winn dixie 2220, beverly hills
- winn dixie 2210, inverness
Super Store · 5
- target store t2900, lecanto
- walmart s/c 1104, inverness
- walmart supercenter 1029, homosassa
- walmart supercenter 5772, lecanto
- winn-dixie 2445, inverness
Seafood Specialty · 3
- rios blue crab schack, crystal river
- shelly's seafood, homosassa
- tje seafood, floral city
Fruits/Veg Specialty · 2
- dixie harvest, homosassa
- greens and goodness, inverness
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- angus wholesale meats, dunnellon
- stacy's groceries, homosassa
Small Grocery Store · 2
- hernando farmers market, hernando
- tony's produce market, crystal river
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Florida
Compare Citrus County vs Alachua County → · All Florida counties →
Food access nationally, Florida in context
Citrus County sits inside Florida (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Citrus County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Citrus County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Citrus County? ▼
Is Citrus County a food desert? ▼
What share of Citrus County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.