Rural Northeast Florida on the US-301 corridor between Starke and Baldwin. A small city of roughly 700, real acreage on the edges, and a slower pace than anywhere in the Jacksonville metro.
Lawtey is a small city in northern Bradford County, sitting on US-301 roughly 8 miles north of Starke and about 30 miles from downtown Jacksonville1. Population runs around 700 residents2 — it's one of the smallest incorporated cities in the county, and the character reflects it: a compact town center along the highway, a handful of churches, a post office, and a landscape that becomes rural farmland and pine timber almost as soon as you leave the highway.
For buyers, Lawtey works if you want small-town Northeast Florida but need to be closer to Jacksonville than Starke or points south. The drive to the Baldwin/Duval County line is under 15 minutes; from there, US-301 continues into the Jacksonville metro or connects to I-10 for the downtown commute. Round-trip commute to Jacksonville from Lawtey is roughly 80-100 minutes daily — still a real commitment, but noticeably shorter than from Starke.
The property mix leans rural: older single-family homes in the town center, manufactured homes on land, and larger parcels (5-50+ acres) outside town for buyers who want space, timber, or a small farm. Median prices run below Starke, which itself runs below Duval and Clay counties.
Historically Lawtey is best known regionally for its speed-trap reputation on US-301 — worth mentioning honestly. The town's small police force enforces speed limits actively through the town corridor, and the AAA has cited Lawtey on its national speed-trap list in the past3. If you commute through Lawtey daily, know the posted limits.
Older single-family homes on smaller lots near US-301 and the town's central grid. Character homes with older systems — inspect carefully.
Manufactured and modular homes on 1-5 acre parcels — a substantial share of Lawtey inventory. Financing rules differ from stick-built; use a lender familiar with manufactured-home loans.
Five to fifty-plus acre parcels beyond town limits. Pine timber, small farms, homesteads. Well and septic standard.
Unincorporated area northeast of Lawtey along CR-125. Rural residential with larger lots.
Lawtey is served by the Bradford County School District4. The main zoned schools are:
Because Bradford is a single-high-school county, all Lawtey teens ride to Bradford High in Starke. Verify current attendance zoning with the district before writing an offer — boundaries do change.
A meaningful share of Lawtey's real estate market is land: 1-acre residential lots, 5-10 acre homesteads, and larger timber or agricultural parcels up to 100+ acres. If you're coming from a suburban market, a few things to check before writing an offer:
I've worked rural land closings across Bradford. Happy to walk through what to check on a specific parcel before you commit.
What's within reach of Lawtey. In practice, most weekly errands mean a drive south to Starke or north to Baldwin/Jacksonville.
Live MLS feed. If Lawtey inventory is thin (it often is), the widget widens to the rest of Bradford County. Land listings appear here too when the MLS categorizes them as residential.
More viable than Starke — roughly 40-50 minutes to downtown, less to the westside/Baldwin. Still a real commute, but noticeably shorter than points further south.
The town's speed enforcement reputation on US-301 is well documented. Know the posted limits through town — they drop quickly.
Yes — but not with every lender. FHA, VA, and USDA all have manufactured-home programs with specific requirements (age of home, foundation type, HUD tags). Use a lender who does these routinely.
Very few. Most Lawtey homes are on individual parcels without an HOA. This is one of the reasons buyers choose Lawtey.
Free 15-minute call to talk through what's available and what to check on a specific parcel.
Data verified July 2026. Confirm parcel-level facts with the Bradford County Property Appraiser and the school district before writing an offer.