Waldo at a glance
- Population: about 818, 342nd by size in Florida of 411 places (Census Vintage 2023 subcounty estimate).
- 2020 Census base: 845 people at the 2020 Census, the baseline for the trend below (US Census Bureau).
- 2020 to 2023 change: a loss of about 3.2% since the 2020 count (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Florida places: 342nd-largest of 411 (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023 estimate).
- Size percentile: it exceeds roughly 17% of Florida's Census places by population (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: mapped at 29.7920, -82.1669 by the US Census Bureau Gazetteer.
- Nearest larger cities (within 120 miles): Keystone Heights, FL (8 mi); Starke, FL (11 mi); Gainesville, FL (13 mi); Hawthorne, FL (14 mi); Alachua, FL (19 mi) (US Census Bureau populations).
- Nearest smaller towns: Hampton, FL (5 mi); Brooker, FL (12 mi); La Crosse, FL (15 mi) (US Census Bureau).
What a personal loan costs in Waldo
Most personal loans are unsecured, meaning no collateral is pledged, and they are repaid in equal installments over a fixed term.
Compare offers on APR rather than the headline rate — the APR includes most fees, and you can model the total with our personal loan calculator.
Your credit, income and existing debts drive the rate a lender offers, while the term you pick sets how much interest builds on top.
Work out the payment you can comfortably carry each month first, then borrow no more than that figure supports.
Florida lending rules that apply in Waldo
Each row below is a Florida rule with its publisher and the date it was retrieved.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deferred presentment fee cap | 10% of the amount provided (transactions not repayable in installments) Source says: "A deferred presentment provider or its affiliate may not charge fees that exceed 10 percent of the currency or payment instrument provided". | Florida Legislature (The Florida Senate, Online Sunshine) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | 18% per annum simple interest (loans/advances of $500,000 or less; loans above $500,000 are exempt from this cap) Source says: "it shall be usury and unlawful ... to ... charge ... a rate of interest greater than the equivalent of 18 percent per annum simple interest". | Florida Legislature (The Florida Senate, Online Sunshine) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Payday lending status | Permitted under license (deferred presentment providers; money services business license under chapter 560) Source says: "Businesses intending to engage in deferred presentment transactions must be licensed as a money services business under chapter 560, Florida Statutes". | Florida Office of Financial Regulation as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan / installment lender licensing | Consumer finance loan license required (chapter 516) Source says: "A person must not engage in the business of making consumer finance loans ... unless ... the person first obtains a license from the office". | Florida Legislature (The Florida Senate, Online Sunshine) as of 2026-09-16 |
| State lending regulator | Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) Source says: "The Office of Financial Regulation is a state-government agency created by the Governor and Cabinet to provide regulatory oversight for Florida's financial services industry". | Florida Office of Financial Regulation as of 2026-09-16 |
How to compare offers in Waldo
These steps are the ones that most affect the offer you receive in Waldo:
- Pull your free credit reports and dispute any error — it is the cheapest way to improve the rate you are offered.
- Run your figures through the personal loan calculator on this site so you know the payment before a lender quotes one.
- Pre-qualify with at least three lenders and compare the APR, not the interest rate.
- Check that the lender is licensed in Florida using the regulator named above.
- Read the disclosure for origination fees and any prepayment penalty before you sign.