City · Sumter County, Florida

Wildwood, Florida

Wildwood is a city in Sumter County, Florida, part of the Wildwood-The Villages, FL metro area. It has 17,608 residents. Wildwood, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 45 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,645 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #388 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), job growth (high) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), injury deaths (high) and social associations (low).

45Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,645 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #388 of 780 in FL
Population: 17,608 (2020-2024)
Land area: 58 mi²
Density: 302.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 1277675

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety63#5,713/15,637
Economy38#9,702/15,631
Housing0#14,934/14,977
Health66#5,282/15,609
Healthcare32#10,666/15,650
Environment59#6,294/15,453
Education85#2,411/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,278/15,650
Community59#6,458/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,428/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Wildwood, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sumter 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

Voter turnout · high81.4%
98/100Florida 68.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSumter County value
Job growth · high3.6%
96/100Florida 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSumter County value
Reading scores · high3.36
92/100Florida 3.17United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumter County value
Mammography screening · high55.0%
91/100Florida 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumter County value
Depression · low18.1%
91/100Florida 18.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · high32.6%
89/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSumter County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high72.7%
1/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Injury deaths · high146 /100k
4/100Florida 97 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumter County value
Social associations · low4.5 /10k
4/100Florida 6.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumter County value
Rent as share of income · high45.0%
5/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Hot days · high114 days
6/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSumter County value
Mental health providers · low65 /100k
9/100Florida 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumter County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,838 (2015-2019) → 17,608 (2020-2024)
+158%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
22.4% (2015-2019) → 39.9% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.9% (2015-2019) → 91.7% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,968 (2015-2019) → $76,552 (2020-2024)
+82%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
22.7% (2015-2019) → 8.0% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
58.3% (2015-2019) → 72.7% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Wildwood, Florida improved on 4 of 14 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.

Improved4

Uninsured−15 points22.7% → 8.0%
Bachelor's++18 points22.4% → 39.9%
Household income+82%$41,968 → $76,552
Broadband+17 points74.9% → 91.7%

Declined1

Price / income+1.9×4.0× → 5.9×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Wildwood, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	22.4 min2020-2024	+3.5 min	Within the margin of error	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.4%2015-2019	39.9%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	98%
Broadband subscriptions	74.9%2015-2019	91.7%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	84%
Child poverty rate	26.9%2015-2019	35.2%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	1.11%2015-2019	0.88%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
High school diploma or higher	88.7%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	4.0×2015-2019	5.9×2020-2024	+1.9×	Declined	5%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5222015-2019	0.4742020-2024	−0.049	Within the margin of error	83%
Median household income	$41,9682015-2019	$76,5522020-2024	+82%	Improved	97%
Poverty rate	16.6%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent as share of income	36.3%2015-2019	45.0%2020-2024	+8.7 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Rent-burdened households	58.3%2015-2019	72.7%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Unemployment rate	7.0%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.7%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	−15 points	Improved	99%

“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 Wildwood, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wildwood, 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, Wildwood, Florida itself moved +7.9 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

17,608 residents (±26)

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

9,228 households (±371)

Wildwood, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k17%1,582
$25k–50k15%1,421
$50k–75k17%1,557

Homes

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

Owners and renters

9,228 households (±371)

Wildwood, Florida
Florida share

Own77%7,136
Rent23%2,092

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+16.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,366 workers (±592)

Wildwood, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone59%3,178
Carpool17%†892
Public transit0.3%†16

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 Wildwood-The Villages, 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 Sumter County, the county holding most of Wildwood's residents.

Sumter County has 2,081 employer establishments, 137 for every 10,000 residents (0.55× the US rate of 248; 0.49× Florida's), with 31,813 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,260. The Census Bureau also counts 10,019 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,081; 10,019 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 137; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 31,813
Average annual pay: $50,260; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	240	15.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	3,798	$69,963	443
Lessors of real estate	210	13.8	1.12×About typical	1,161	$48,231	1,328
Real estate agents and brokers	171	11.3	2.31×More than typical	638	$51,939	576
Restaurants and other eating places	165	10.9	0.59×Fewer than typical	4,469	$23,071	22
Specialty trade contractors	130	8.6	0.55×Fewer than typical	3,127	$69,492	497
Full-service restaurants	89	5.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	2,955	$25,741	10
Services to buildings and dwellings	89	5.9	0.87×About typical	864	$44,191	621
Offices of physicians	87	5.7	0.88×About typical	1,564	$94,753	83
Management, scientific and technical consulting	68	4.5	0.67×Fewer than typical	161	$55,665	533
Limited-service restaurants	61	4	0.50×Fewer than typical	1,285	$17,686	10
Religious organizations	54	3.6	0.64×Fewer than typical	357	$27,098	—
Offices of other health practitioners	53	3.5	0.57×Fewer than typical	491	$56,969	155

Rank places for an industry Open Sumter County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 151,889 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 $3.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wildwood, Florida: $186 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.3M; −40% vs FY2025
Per resident: $186; US $1,994
Sole-source: 6.8%; US 30%
Single offer: 2.1%; 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

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$3.2M98%
Departmental Offices$47K1.4%
Department of the Army$21.9K0.7%
Department of the Navy$11K0.3%

Top recipients

CITY OF WILDWOOD CITY HALL$1.6M50%
SUMTER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.$1.4M42%
VILLAGE CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT$211.5K6.5%
THE ARCANUM GROUP, INC.$47K1.4%
RELIANCE RELOCATION SERVICES, INC$21.9K0.7%

Spending by fiscal year

1.5MFY2017
370.4KFY2018
258KFY2019
2.6MFY2020
3.2MFY2021
2.7MFY2022
2.4MFY2023
13.1MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Water, sewage and other systems · 2213$1.6M50%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$1.4M42%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$211.5K6.5%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$47K1.4%
Specialized freight trucking · 4842$21.9K0.7%
Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance · 8112

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Wildwood, Florida

VILLAGE AMBULANCE SERVICES FOR FCC COLEMAN FISCAL YEAR 2026 RP#: 0049-26 PRICES ARE REGULATED BY THE SUMTER COUNTY BOARD.$320K
VILLAGE CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT· Sumter County, FL· Transportation & logistics· Jan 28, 2026 – Aug 17, 2026· 15B30226P00000154
VILLAGE AMBULANCE SERVICES FOR FCC COLEMAN FISCAL YEAR 2026 RP#: 0049-26 PRICES ARE REGULATED BY THE SUMTER COUNTY BOARD.$40.5K
VILLAGE CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT· Sumter County, FL· Transportation & logistics· Dec 2, 2025 – Jun 30, 2026· 15B30226P00000034
BI-ANNUAL GAS MONITORING$19.5K
ALPINE CONTROLS, LLC· Sumter County, FL· Other equipment & supplies· Jan 21, 2026 – Jun 3, 2026· N6893626P5094

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 Wildwood, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Wildwood, Florida's figures are part of those of Sumter County, FL ($20.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 16% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sumter 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.

Wildwood, Florida is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Daniel WebsterR-FL-11 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.2%

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.

Sumter County67100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Wildwood-The Villages, FL56

Other cities and towns in Sumter 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/1277675

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends