Moving to
Palatka.

All Palatka data Compare Palatka

10,650people live here $32,021median household income▼ 60% below US $901median rent per month▼ 36% below US $150,500median home value▼ 55% below US

What it's like to live in Palatka

Palatka is a small city in Florida with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, air quality that stays clean most of the year, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Palatka deals with household incomes below the national average, crime rates above the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.

The good

Rent below the national average
Affordable home prices
Clean air
Average class sizes

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Crime above national average
Low college degree attainment
High poverty rate
High rent burden for renters
Above-average rainfall

How Palatka compares

Median household income

Palatka$32,021

Florida avg$74,568

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Palatka$901

Florida avg$1,669

US$1,413

Median home value

Palatka$150,500

Florida avg$359,000

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Palatka

Based on Palatka's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$1,802

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $36,040 a year
60% of Palatka renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$30,100

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $15,050
Homes cost 4.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 36% below US

$901/mo median rent

Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $901 a month. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $150,500. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.

Median home value $150,500 · 60% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.9% county unemployment

Unemployment in Putnam County is 4.9%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Putnam County (county-wide)

Safety▲ 30% above US

429 violent crimes per 100k

Crime is worth weighing seriously here. Rates run above the national average, and while plenty of residents live comfortably, neighborhood selection matters a lot more than it does in a safer city.

Property crime 2799/100k · Palatka Police Department · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

24 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.5 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

73%

Carpool

14%

Work from home

7.9%

Public transit

2.3%

Walk

2.0%

Other

0.2%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 89°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 49°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 2.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▼ 70% below US

11% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

9 public schools inside the boundary

There are 9 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Fort Matanzas National Monument (26 miles away). There are 5 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Palatka's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and crime rates above the national average. A year of median rent ($901/mo) equals 34% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.

See all the data for Palatka →·All Florida cities →