Lake County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 383,956. Its county seat is Tavares, and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is included in the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Lake County was created in 1887 from portions of Sumter and Orange counties. The Bill creating Lake County, was introduced by Representative Henry Holcomb Duncan, a resident of Tavares, Florida. Upon the creation of Lake County, he became the first Clerk of Court and Mr. Duncan served in that capacity until his death in 1920. It was named for the many lakes contained within its borders (250 named lakes and 1,735 other bodies of water).

In the 1800s, the two main industries in the area were growing cotton and breeding cattle. In the latter part of the 19th century, people started to grow citrus trees. Citrus was introduced by Melton Haynes. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, citrus production increased and grew into the area's leading industry. The December 1989 United States cold wave destroyed most of the citrus groves, dealing an economic blow from which many growers could not recover. Grove owners sold massive amounts of land to developers, resulting in increasing urban sprawl.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (18.9%) is water.

Sugarloaf Mountain is the highest point in peninsular Florida, at 312 feet (95 m) above sea level.

Adjacent counties

  • Volusia County – northeast
  • Orange County – east
  • Seminole County – east
  • Osceola County – southeast
  • Polk County – south
  • Sumter County – west
  • Marion County – northwest

National protected areas

  • Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge (part)
  • Ocala National Forest (part)

Demographics

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Voter registration

Data comes from the Florida Division of Elections.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Party Registration and Enrollment (April 30, 2025)

! colspan="2" |Party

!Number of registered voters

!%

|-

|

|Republican

|131,901

|

|-

|

|Democratic

|69,886

|

|-

|

|Independent

|68,974

|

|-

|

|Minor parties

|8,999

|

|-

! colspan="2" |Total

!279,760

|100%

|}

Education

There are a number of public schools in the county.

Colleges

The following colleges are in the county:

  • Lake-Sumter State College
  • Beacon College
  • Southern Technical College
  • Lake Technical College

Transportation

Aviation

The Tavares Seaplane Base is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base on Lake Dora in Tavares.

thumb|left|512px|Panorama of the Tavares Seaplane Base & Marina on Lake Dora

The Leesburg International Airport is a former Army Airfield and municipal airport along Lake Harris east of downtown Leesburg, Florida.

Mid Florida Air Service Airport is on State Road 44 east of Eustis.

  • Umatilla Municipal Airport

Major highways

  • 25px Florida's Turnpike runs north and south from Southeastern and Central Florida. Four interchanges exist in the county; Hancock Road (Exit 278), US 27/SR 19 (Exit 285), southbound US 27 (Exit 289) and County Road 470 (Exit 296).
  • 25px US 27 is the main local road through western Lake County, running south to north. It spans from Four Corners to The Villages.
  • 25px US 441 is another south to north US highway running through Mount Dora from Orange County around Lake Dora, where it merges with SR 44, has a wrong-way concurrency with SR 19 in Tavares, and lets go of SR 44 in Leesburg only to join US 27 as they both head into Marion County.
  • 25px SR 19 is a mostly scenic north and south road from SR 50 in Groveland through Tavares, Eustis, and Ocala National Forest.
  • 25px SR 33 is the north–south road from Lakeland in Polk County to Groveland. A county extension exists as a hidden route along SR 50 to Mascotte, where it becomes an exposed county road leading to US 27 in Okahumpka.
  • 25px SR 40 is the northernmost east–west route in Lake County, and runs through Ocala National Forest.
  • 25px SR 44 runs east and west through Central Lake County from west of Leesburg where it joins southbound US 441 until it breaks away near Mount Dora and heads northeast into Volusia County.
  • 25px SR 46 starts at an interchange with US 441 and County Road 46 in Mount Dora and through Sorrento and Mount Plymouth along the northern border of Orange County.
  • 25px SR 50 is the main east–west road through southern Lake County.

Public transportation

LakeXpress is the public transportation agency that serves the Lake County, Florida area since 2007.

Railroads

  • The sole surviving railroad line through Lake County is the Florida Central Railroad which spans from Orange County near Mount Dora through Tavares, Eustis, and terminates near Umatilla. The line has been proposed for a yet-to-be built commuter line called the Orange Blossom Express since 2009. A short-lived tourist railroad named Tavares, Eustis and Gulf Railroad existed between 2011 and 2017.

Communities

Cities

thumb|[[Florida Citrus Tower, an historic landmark located in Clermont]]

  • Clermont
  • Eustis
  • Fruitland Park
  • Groveland
  • Leesburg
  • Mascotte
  • Minneola
  • Mount Dora
  • Tavares
  • Umatilla

Towns

  • Astatula
  • Howey-in-the-Hills
  • Lady Lake
  • Montverde

Census-designated places

  • Altoona
  • Astor
  • Ferndale
  • Four Corners
  • Lake Kathryn
  • Lake Mack-Forest Hills
  • Lisbon
  • Mount Plymouth
  • Okahumpka
  • Paisley
  • Pine Lakes
  • Pittman
  • Silver Lake
  • Sorrento
  • Yalaha

Other unincorporated communities

  • Bassville Park
  • Dona Vista
  • Fort Mason
  • Grand Island
  • Lanier
  • Orange Bend
  • St. Clair
  • The Villages (partly)

Notable people

  • Flora Call and Elias Disney were married January 1, 1888, in the Lake County town of Kismet. They were the parents of Walt Disney.
  • The Groveland Four (Earnest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin), who were falsely accused of raping a 17-year-old white woman and assaulting her husband.
  • Willis V. McCall, sheriff of Lake County, who shot one and wounded another of the Groveland Four while they were in his custody
  • Randy Rhoads, American heavy metal guitarist, killed in a plane crash in Leesburg on March 19, 1982. Played in the Ozzy Osbourne solo band following his tenure in Quiet Riot.
  • Ginger Minj, drag queen; best known for being a runner-up on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and competing on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars

See also

  • Lake County Schools
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Florida

Notes

References

  • Lake County Board of County Commissioners
  • Lake County Supervisor of Elections
  • Lake County Property Appraiser
  • Lake County Sheriff's Office
  • Lake County Tax Collector

Special districts

  • Lake County School Board
  • Project Student Safety
  • St. Johns River Water Management District
  • Southwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

  • Lake County Clerk of Circuit and County Courts
  • Public Defender, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties
  • Office of the State Attorney, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida
  • 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida
  • Workforce Central Florida
  • Lake County Collection on RICHES Mosaic Interface