State food-access profile · 67 counties

Food access in Florida

How far Florida residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

25.1%
low-access pop.: 550
food-desert tracts: 12.8%
on SNAP: 67
counties

The statewide picture

About 4.7M Florida residents - 25.1% - live in a low-access area, and 550 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

4.7M
low-access residents: 1.4M
food-desert residents: 6.0%
households, no vehicle: 12.6%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Florida stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Florida is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Florida against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 67 counties and 22.4M residents, Florida's population-weighted low-access share is 25.1%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 550 tracts in Florida, home to roughly 1.4M low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 12.8% of households, and 6.0% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

25.1%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

4.7M

Low-access residents

12.8%

Avg. SNAP

Glades

56.2
Baker

55.6
Flagler

52
Okeechobee

50.6
Charlotte

49.2
Citrus

46.2
St. Lucie

45.9
Indian River

45.7

All counties in Florida

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Glades County	13K	56.2%	16.3%	2.0%	17.2%
Baker County	28K	55.6%	16.7%	4.8%	11.8%
Flagler County	127K	52.0%	7.6%	4.0%	10.3%
Okeechobee County	41K	50.6%	16.4%	4.7%	18.0%
Charlotte County	201K	49.2%	7.3%	4.5%	9.0%
Citrus County	162K	46.2%	12.0%	4.3%	15.6%
St. Lucie County	361K	45.9%	12.2%	4.4%	12.3%
Indian River County	167K	45.7%	7.5%	4.6%	11.1%
Calhoun County	13K	45.4%	20.0%	5.7%	20.7%
Nassau County	98K	44.0%	6.9%	3.0%	9.7%
Union County	16K	42.7%	16.8%	2.0%	19.5%
Brevard County	633K	41.8%	9.4%	4.9%	10.2%
Okaloosa County	217K	41.5%	7.9%	3.6%	9.3%
Escambia County	326K	41.0%	15.0%	7.0%	14.7%
Washington County	26K	40.7%	12.4%	2.9%	17.3%
Pasco County	611K	40.4%	10.7%	4.7%	11.1%
Santa Rosa County	198K	39.8%	9.7%	3.4%	8.8%
Highlands County	106K	38.4%	15.7%	5.6%	15.3%
Martin County	162K	37.9%	6.6%	4.3%	11.3%
Lee County	818K	37.0%	8.3%	5.0%	12.0%
Polk County	791K	36.4%	14.6%	5.4%	14.5%
Osceola County	427K	35.3%	17.2%	4.3%	12.8%
Clay County	228K	34.7%	8.6%	3.6%	9.2%
Walton County	83K	34.6%	9.4%	3.5%	12.5%
Hernando County	207K	34.4%	12.4%	4.5%	11.7%
Lake County	413K	34.3%	9.6%	4.1%	8.9%
Holmes County	20K	34.0%	14.3%	3.3%	14.0%
Sumter County	143K	33.8%	5.7%	3.1%	9.7%
Monroe County	82K	33.0%	7.5%	6.1%	10.6%
Sarasota County	460K	32.9%	5.2%	4.1%	8.6%
Marion County	400K	32.7%	13.2%	4.8%	14.4%
Leon County	298K	32.3%	11.7%	7.1%	18.7%
Volusia County	580K	32.3%	12.0%	5.3%	11.8%
Bay County	186K	31.5%	12.6%	4.3%	11.9%
Hillsborough County	1.5M	29.9%	13.3%	5.8%	12.7%
Taylor County	22K	29.7%	16.9%	8.0%	17.3%
Duval County	1.0M	29.4%	14.3%	7.2%	14.1%
Seminole County	481K	29.3%	9.2%	3.9%	9.0%
St. Johns County	307K	28.6%	4.2%	3.1%	6.5%
Collier County	398K	26.9%	5.6%	4.6%	10.7%
Manatee County	430K	26.7%	7.5%	4.4%	9.8%
Liberty County	8K	25.9%	26.7%	8.7%	17.5%
Hardee County	26K	24.7%	24.9%	6.0%	25.3%
Orange County	1.5M	22.1%	13.7%	5.7%	13.0%
Madison County	18K	20.8%	17.2%	6.7%	21.0%
Alachua County	285K	19.2%	9.2%	8.4%	21.2%
Hamilton County	14K	18.6%	28.6%	3.6%	20.1%
Palm Beach County	1.5M	18.6%	10.0%	6.0%	11.3%
Pinellas County	963K	18.1%	8.6%	6.9%	11.5%
Jefferson County	15K	16.3%	20.6%	11.1%	21.0%
Hendry County	42K	13.9%	18.2%	8.1%	22.5%
Putnam County	75K	13.4%	22.7%	6.8%	23.4%
Columbia County	72K	13.1%	20.5%	5.5%	16.7%
Suwannee County	45K	12.0%	15.9%	5.9%	15.0%
Wakulla County	35K	10.7%	12.2%	3.2%	6.7%
DeSoto County	35K	10.6%	22.4%	7.5%	24.1%
Jackson County	48K	10.3%	18.7%	3.7%	19.5%
Broward County	2.0M	9.4%	13.2%	6.8%	12.2%
Dixie County	17K	8.6%	17.2%	3.1%	20.9%
Levy County	45K	8.4%	17.2%	5.2%	17.4%
Gulf County	15K	8.0%	12.0%	3.7%	12.5%
Lafayette County	8K	7.9%	16.6%	4.7%	17.5%
Miami-Dade County	2.7M	6.1%	22.8%	9.8%	14.7%
Gadsden County	44K	4.5%	25.7%	11.4%	27.9%
Franklin County	13K	3.3%	14.3%	8.1%	16.5%
Bradford County	28K	1.1%	17.3%	6.2%	16.8%
Gilchrist County	19K	0.1%	17.1%	6.7%	11.5%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

25.1% of Florida residents, about 4.7M people, live in a low-access area.
550 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 1.4M low-income, low-access residents.
12.8% of households receive SNAP, and 6.0% have no vehicle.
Glades County has the state's highest low-access share at 56.2%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Florida has low food access?▼

25.1% of Florida residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Florida?▼

550 census tracts in Florida are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 1.4M low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Florida?▼

Across Florida counties, an average of 12.8% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Florida has the worst food access?▼

Glades County has the highest low-access share in Florida at 56.2%, with 16.3% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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