Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Florida

Lady Lake, Florida

Lady Lake is a small town of about 17,500 people in Lake County, Florida. It has grown about 9% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Orlando, is about 48 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
17,496
up 9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$227,300
Lake County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$46,074
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Orlando area
101.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
The Villages, FL
To Orlando
48 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.4% above the U.S. average in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Lady Lake itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Wildwood Middle/ High School, about 7 miles away.
  • A hospital close byThe Villages Regional Hospital in The Villages, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityOrlando is about 48 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Lady Lake meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$227,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Lake County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,387 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$46,074U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,373 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
13%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
101.4U.S. average = 100 (the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area, not Lady Lake alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
17,4962020: 16,052
Median age
66.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
55%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
9%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Retail (35%); schools, health care and social services (17%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: The Villages Regional Hospital, The Villages, FL, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Lady Lake, run by Lake. The nearest public high school is Wildwood Middle/ High School, about 7 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
46°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
73 a year
Nights at or below freezing
5 a year
Rain and melted snow
50 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
100 feet

Weather station: Lisbon (10 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: The Villages Regional Hospital, Ocala, Orlando.

Lake County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Lady Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lady Lake?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Ocklawaha, FL (unincorporated)1,586 people, 9 miles
  • Silver Springs Shores East, FL (unincorporated)1,777 people, 9 miles
  • Lisbon, FL (unincorporated)100 people, 10 miles
  • Silver Lake, FL (unincorporated)2,350 people, 10 miles
  • Coleman, FL803 people, 12 miles
  • Okahumpka, FL (unincorporated)449 people, 12 miles
  • Yalaha, FL (unincorporated)1,404 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.