# Columbia County, Florida: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Lake City No data center or power plant project is on record in Columbia County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Columbia County is home to Lake City and Fort White. Unemployment was 5.5% in August 2026, against 3.5% in 2019. Next door, Alachua County has 1 data center. 403 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 403 MW of capacity, 93% of it solar. 403 MW of operating power plants, mostly solar 13.71¢ per kWh for Florida Power & Light Co residential customers, 2024 +0.3% total jobs since 2019, now 24,847 ## Cities and towns in Columbia County Columbia County is home to Lake City and Fort White. Lake City12,788 residents Fort White665 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Five Points, Watertown. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Columbia County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Florida | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 69,758 | 74,094 | ▲ 6.2% | 41st of 67 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 24,771 | 24,847 | ▲ 0.3% | 63rd of 67 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $39,137 | $53,224 | ▲ 36.0% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.5% | 5.5% | ▲ 2.0pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 403 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Florida Power & Light Co is the largest utility serving Columbia County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.71¢/kWh in 2024. Employers here counted 24,847 jobs in 2025, up 0.3% from 2019. 74,094 people live here, up 6.2% since 2020. ## Who powers Columbia County ### Utilities with service territory in Columbia County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Florida Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 5,236,277 | 13.71¢ | 41% | | Duke Energy Florida, LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,793,067 | 16.63¢ | 38% | | Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc - (FL) | Cooperative | Bundled | 171,179 | 13.09¢ | 20% | | Suwannee Valley Elec Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 25,934 | 15.00¢ | 21% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Solar | 373 MW | 93% | | Battery storage | 30 MW | 7% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Sunshine Gateway Solar Energy Center | Florida Power & Light Co | Solar | 104 MW | 2019 | | Columbia Solar Power Plant | Duke Energy Florida, LLC | Solar | 75 MW | 2020 | | Santa Fe Solar Power Plant | Duke Energy Florida, LLC | Solar | 75 MW | 2021 | | Columbia County Solar | FRP Columbia County Solar, LLC | Solar | 74 MW | 2024 | | Price Creek | Florida Power & Light Co | Solar | 74 MW | 2026 | ## The Columbia County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 24,847 | $53,224 | 1.00 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Columbia County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Columbia County. Florida has 45 local measures on record statewide. ## Columbia County and its neighbors Of the 8 counties that border Columbia County, Alachua County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Columbia County | 74,094 | ▲ 0.3% | 403 MW | — | — | — | | Alachua County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/alachua-county) | 290,028 | ▲ 5.0% | 957 MW | — | 1 | — | | Baker County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/baker-county) | 29,737 | ▼ 1.5% | 298 MW | 74 MW | — | — | | Clinch County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/clinch-county) GA | 6,847 | ▲ 5.3% | — | — | — | — | | Echols County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/echols-county) GA | 3,685 | ▼ 6.9% | — | — | — | — | | Gilchrist County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/gilchrist-county) | 20,488 | ▲ 7.6% | 235 MW | — | — | — | | Hamilton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/hamilton-county) | 14,180 | ▲ 2.8% | 174 MW | — | — | — | | Suwannee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/suwannee-county) | 48,149 | ▲ 3.1% | 466 MW | — | — | — | | Union County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/union-county) | 16,250 | ▲ 4.9% | 74 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Florida [All Florida countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida)[Alachua County290,028 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/alachua-county)[Suwannee County48,149 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/suwannee-county)[Baker County29,737 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/baker-county)[Gilchrist County20,488 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/gilchrist-county)[Union County16,250 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/union-county) ## Columbia County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Columbia County, Florida? 4 utilities have service territory in Columbia County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Florida Power & Light Co, Duke Energy Florida, LLC, Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc - (FL), Suwannee Valley Elec Coop Inc. The largest, Florida Power & Light Co, charged residential customers 13.71¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Lake City, FL in? Lake City is in Columbia County, Florida. About 12,788 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Columbia County? 5 operating plants with 403 MW of capacity. The largest is Sunshine Gateway Solar Energy Center (104 MW, solar). ### Are there data centers in Columbia County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Columbia County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Alachua County. ### Is Columbia County adding jobs? Employers counted 24,847 jobs in 2025 against 24,771 in 2019 (+0.3%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Columbia County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Columbia County. Florida has 45 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/columbia-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).