City · Polk County, Florida

Lake Wales, Florida

Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area. It has 16,785 residents. Lake Wales, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,970 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #704 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), new business applications (high) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), hot days (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,970 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #704 of 780 in FL
Population: 16,785 (2020-2024)
Land area: 20 mi²
Density: 826.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1238950

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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
Economy20#12,542/15,631
Housing17#12,451/14,977
Health26#11,484/15,609
Healthcare15#13,265/15,650
Environment57#6,699/15,453
Education30#10,960/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,381/15,650
Community4#14,944/15,651
Leisure & amenities6#14,631/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lake Wales, 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 homes permitted · high19.2 /1k
95/100Florida 7.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
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
Depression · low20.6%
81/100Florida 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high67.3%
1/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Hot days · high128 days
3/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPolk County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,453 /100k
4/100Florida 3,204 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Rent as share of income · high40.6%
6/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Adult obesity · high43.9%
7/100Florida 34.5%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Restaurants and bars · low4.8 /10k
9/100Florida 9.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
2.1 /1k (2021) → 19.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+813%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.7% (2015-2019) → 67.3% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.9% (2015-2019) → 85.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.8% (2015-2019) → 40.6% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.5% (2015-2019) → 87.5% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,186 (2015-2019) → $56,347 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Lake Wales, Florida improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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

Broadband+14 points71.9% → 85.6%
Household income+28%$44,186 → $56,347

Declined2

Rent / income+12 points28.8% → 40.6%
Rent burden+23 points44.7% → 67.3%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Lake Wales, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.5 min2015-2019	23.9 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.4%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	71.9%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Child poverty rate	28.8%2015-2019	30.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Effective property tax rate	1.04%2015-2019	0.84%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	81.5%2015-2019	87.5%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	50%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4252015-2019	0.4552020-2024	+0.030	Within the margin of error	26%
Median household income	$44,1862015-2019	$56,3472020-2024	+28%	Improved	50%
Poverty rate	18.1%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Rent as share of income	28.8%2015-2019	40.6%2020-2024	+12 points	Declined	7%
Rent-burdened households	44.7%2015-2019	67.3%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	7%
Unemployment rate	7.7%2015-2019	5.9%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.9%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	79%

“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 Lake Wales, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lake Wales, 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, Lake Wales, Florida itself moved −9.5 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

16,785 residents (±37)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

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

Household income

6,924 households (±391)

Lake Wales, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k28%1,973
$25k–50k18%1,242
$50k–75k17%1,151

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,924 households (±391)

Lake Wales, Florida
Florida share

Own59%4,099
Rent41%2,825

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,710 workers (±466)

Lake Wales, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone74%4,248
Carpool13%†767
Public transit0.1%†

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 Lake Wales'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 $8,243 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lake Wales, Florida: $0.49 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $8,243; −99% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.49; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; 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

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$8,243100%

Top recipients

TEXAS AQUATIC HARVESTING, INC.$8,243100%
OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE INC.$00.0%
VERDE, INC.$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.5MFY2017
12.4KFY2018
11MFY2019
17.1MFY2020
4MFY2021
24.3KFY2022
-1.7KFY2023
27.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$8,243100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Lake Wales, Florida

SERVICE - AQUATIC SHREDDING OF CANOE TRAIL VEGETATION FOR FWS ARTHUR R MARSHALL LOXAHATCHEE NWR.$11.4K
TEXAS AQUATIC HARVESTING, INC.· Polk County, FL· Construction & real property· Jul 13, 2026 – Jul 13, 2026· 140FS326P0191

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 Lake Wales, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Lake Wales, Florida's figures are part of those of Polk County, FL ($50M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lake Wales 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.

Lake Wales, 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/1238950

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends