Census-designated place · Polk County, Florida

Alturas, Florida

Alturas is a census-designated place in Polk County, Florida, part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area. It has 4,581 residents. Alturas, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,821 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #695 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on new business applications (high), median Air Quality Index (low) and days with unhealthy air (low). It ranks worst on hot days (high), uninsured residents (under 65) (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,821 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #695 of 780 in FL
Population: 4,581 (2020-2024)
Land area: 54 mi²
Density: 85.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 1201100

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety56#6,829/15,637
Economy45#8,549/15,631
Housing27#10,893/14,977
Health25#11,719/15,609
Healthcare10#14,055/15,650
Environment57#6,699/15,453
Education17#12,947/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,795/15,650
Community4#14,944/15,651
Leisure & amenities6#14,631/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Alturas, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Polk County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

New business applications · high19.8 /1k
89/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauPolk County value
Median Air Quality Index · low34
88/100Florida 422025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPolk County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100Florida 0.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPolk County value
Comfortable days · high31.2%
84/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPolk County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.59%
80/100Florida 0.78%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Distance to an Amtrak station · low8 mi
80/100Florida 27 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPolk County value

Weaknesses

Hot days · high128 days
3/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPolk County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high28.0%
3/100Florida 13.7%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Preventable hospital stays · high4,453 /100k
4/100Florida 3,204 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Rent-burdened households · high0.0%
7/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Frequent mental distress · high21.6%
7/100Florida 18.7%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Rent as share of income · high25.9%
9/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
3,475 (2015-2019) → 4,581 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.2% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−46 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
14.7% (2015-2019) → 28.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$45,488 (2015-2019) → $70,231 (2020-2024)
+54%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateImproving
10.8% (2015-2019) → 3.7% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.4% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Alturas, Florida improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Rent burden−46 points46.2% → 0.0%
Household income+54%$45,488 → $70,231

Declined1

Uninsured+13 points14.7% → 28.0%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Alturas, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.0 min2015-2019	29.7 min2020-2024	−4.3 min	Within the margin of error	87%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.8%2015-2019	11.2%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	74.4%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.69%2015-2019	0.59%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
High school diploma or higher	89.9%2015-2019	84.2%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3912015-2019	0.4172020-2024	+0.026	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$45,4882015-2019	$70,2312020-2024	+54%	Improved	88%
Poverty rate	9.1%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Rent as share of income	28.2%2015-2019	25.9%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent-burdened households	46.2%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−46 points	Improved	99%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.7%2015-2019	28.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	1%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Alturas, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Alturas, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Alturas, Florida itself moved +4.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,581 residents (±862)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 women (−3.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,581 residents (±862)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

White68%3,101
Black1.4%†62
Hispanic or Latino28%†1,288

Education

2,863 residents (±471)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

No high school diploma16%†451
High school or GED43%1,228
Some college18%†527

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,419 households (±243)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k17%†239
$25k–50k21%†292
$50k–75k16%†231
$75k–100k11%†149
$100k–150k19%†268
$150k–200k11%†162
$200k or more5.5%†78

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−17.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,419 households (±243)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Own88%1,245
Rent12%†174

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+14.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

91 households (±53)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Under $75037%†34
$750–1,0009.9%†9
$1,000–1,50040%†36

Home values

1,245 homes (±247)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Under $150k43%†539
$150k–250k28%†353
$250k–400k15%†190

Age of homes

1,697 homes (±230)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

2010 or later16%†273
2000–200919%†327
1980–199940%682

Size of homes

1,697 homes (±230)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom2.8%†48
2 bedrooms22%†378

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,023 workers (±454)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone83%1,684
Carpool10%†205
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.8%†37
Bike0.0%0
Work from home4.3%†87
Other0.5%†10

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,936 workers (±450)

Alturas, Florida
Florida share

Under 15 min12%†240
15–29 min41%†790
30–44 min27%†526

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Polk County, the county holding most of Alturas's residents.

Polk County has 13,992 employer establishments, 170 for every 10,000 residents (0.68× the US rate of 248; 0.60× Florida's), with 232,278 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,155. The Census Bureau also counts 88,219 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 13,992; 88,219 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 170; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 232,278
Average annual pay: $50,155; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Polk County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	1,270	15.4	0.99×About typical	10,297	$53,413	5,663
Ambulatory health care services	984	11.9	0.57×Fewer than typical	13,548	$67,645	3,653
Restaurants and other eating places	859	10.4	0.57×Fewer than typical	19,042	$20,803	638
Lessors of real estate	807	9.8	0.79×Fewer than typical	3,342	$40,834	6,352
Services to buildings and dwellings	643	7.8	1.16×About typical	4,128	$37,298	8,171
Truck transportation	486	5.9	1.17×About typical	5,543	$60,710	4,329
Limited-service restaurants	482	5.8	0.73×Fewer than typical	10,584	$18,079	174
Construction of buildings	464	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	2,787	$59,732	3,100
Religious organizations	420	5.1	0.92×About typical	3,399	$28,034	—
Building equipment contractors	413	5	0.83×About typical	4,474	$58,069	1,180
Building finishing contractors	350	4.2	1.12×About typical	1,396	$45,054	1,924
Landscaping services	343	4.2	1.19×About typical	2,467	$41,198	2,233

Rank places for an industry Open Polk County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 824,794 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $834.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Alturas, Florida: $182 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $834.1K; −24% vs FY2025
Per resident: $182; US $1,994
Sole-source: 3.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$810.6K97%
U.S. Coast Guard$29K3.5%

Top recipients

APPLIED AQUATIC MANAGEMENT, INC.$810.6K97%
AMERICAN COMPLIANCE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.$29K3.5%
BOSWELL & DUNLAP LLP$00.0%
OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE INC.$00.0%
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION-$5,5220.0%

Spending by fiscal year

913.5KFY2017
285.7KFY2018
302.4KFY2019
195.9KFY2020
84.2KFY2021
1.7MFY2022
454.8KFY2023
593.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$839.6K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Alturas, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Alturas, Florida's figures are part of those of Polk County, FL ($50M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Alturas is mostly in Polk County.

See federal money in Polk County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Alturas, Florida is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Polk County32100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL27

Other cities and towns in Polk County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1201100

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends