Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

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2024 Population

790,694

US Senator

Rick Scott

Republican Party

US Senator

Ashley Moody

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

39.5

0.253% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

14.5%

1.67% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$65,978

3.67% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$266,500

11% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

350,702

5.14% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

93.3% of the residents in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL are Polk State College (1,854 degrees awarded in 2024), Southeastern University (1,636 degrees), and Florida Southern College (915 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL was $266,500, and the homeownership rate was 70.5%.

Most people in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 30.5 minutes. The average car ownership in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL was 2 cars per household.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL borders North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL, Okeechobee, FL, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL, Sebring, FL, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, The Villages, FL, and Wauchula, FL.

About the photo: Circle B Bar Reserve Sunrise, Lakeland, Florida

Photo by Matthew Paulson

United States Florida

Population & Diversity

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is home to a population of 791k people, from which 93.3% are citizens. As of 2024, 12.5% of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL residents were born outside of the country (99k people).

In 2024, there were 3.61 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (402k people) in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL than any other race or ethnicity. There were 111k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 102k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

93.3%

2024 Citizenship

93.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 93.3% of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL was 93.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

White (Non-Hispanic)
402k ± 1.2k
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
111k ± 1.75k
Other (Hispanic)
102k ± 3.59k

29.2%

Hispanic Population

231k people

29.2% of the people in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL are hispanic (231k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Florida.

Most Common Origin

Cuba
1,051,839 ± 24,582 people
Haiti
364,479 ± 14,701 people
Colombia
327,463 ± 13,946 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Florida was Cuba, the natal country of 1,051,839 Florida residents, followed by Haiti with 364,479 and Colombia with 327,463.

Foreign-Born Population

12.5%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

99k people

11.5%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

87.3k people

As of 2024, 12.5% of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL residents (99k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL was 11.5%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
14,200 ± 733
Gulf War (2001-)
9,755 ± 861
Gulf War (1990s)
6,154 ± 633

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.46 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL.

Health

87.6% of the population of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL has health coverage, with 38.9% on employee plans, 17.3% on Medicaid, 14.7% on Medicare, 15.2% on non-group plans, and 1.55% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Florida see 1,370 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,370 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1563 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 459 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.1% were men and 50.9% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Florida.

1,370 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Florida

Primary care physicians in Florida see an average of 1,370 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,370 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Florida in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 23.6% under 18 years, 20.6% between 18 and 34 years, 36.5% between 35 and 64 years, and 19.3% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.1% were men and 50.9% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

12.4%

Uninsured

38.9%

Employer Coverage

17.3%

Medicaid

14.7%

Medicare

15.2%

Non-Group

1.55%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL declined by 4.26% from 13% to 12.4%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Economy

The economy of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL employs 351k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL were Retail Trade (48,963 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (41,870 people), and Accommodation & Food Services (29,962 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($88,397), Utilities ($67,308), and Finance & Insurance ($57,181).

Employment

Occupations

351k

2024 Value

± 5,679

5.14%

1 Year growth

± 2.17%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL grew at a rate of 5.14%, from 334k employees to 351k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (43,868 people), Sales & Related Occupations (36,166 people), and Management Occupations (32,438 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Florida.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Florida (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

351k

2024 Value

± 5,679

5.14%

1 Year growth

± 2.17%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL grew at a rate of 5.14%, from 334k employees to 351k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, are Retail Trade (48,963 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (41,870 people), and Accommodation & Food Services (29,962 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, though some of these residents may live in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$46,907

Median earning men ± $750

$36,071

Median earning women ± $625

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Public Administration ($64,879), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($57,328), and Wholesale Trade ($54,429).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($54,867), Public Administration ($45,560), and Wholesale Trade ($44,460).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Florida.

Y-Axis

4.23%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 9.69M people employed in Florida. This represents a 4.23% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 12.6%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Florida.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

1,121
Construction
924
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
887
Other Services (except Public Administration)

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$1.78M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$1.2M
Retail Trade
$1.18M
Manufacturing

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Florida went to Donald J. Trump with 56.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (43%), followed by Jill Stein (0.396%).

Rick Scott and Ashley Moody are the senators currently representing the state of Florida. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Florida is currently represented by 28 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL. Showing the available data for Florida.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (56.1%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (43%)
Democratic Party
Jill Stein (0.396%)
Green Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Florida went to Donald J. Trump with 56.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (43%), followed by Jill Stein (0.396%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Florida for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Florida

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Florida.

Rick Scott

Senator from Florida

Assumed office on January 8, 2019
Inauguration delayed in order to finish his term as Governor of Florida.

Ashley Moody

Senator from Florida

Assumed office on January 21, 2025
While elections for full class 3 terms will take place in 2028, Florida will hold a special election in 2026 to elect a senator to complete the remainder of Marco Rubio's term.

Rick Scott and Ashley Moody are the senators currently representing Florida.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Florida over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2024, universities in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL awarded 6,121 degrees. The student population of Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 12,761 male students and 17,338 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL are White (3,220 and 54.4%), Hispanic or Latino (1,466 and 24.8%), Black or African American (798 and 13.5%), and Two or More Races (184 and 3.11%).

The largest universities in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL by number of degrees awarded are Polk State College (1,854 and 30.3%), Southeastern University (1,636 and 26.7%), and Florida Southern College (915 and 14.9%).

The most popular majors in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL are Liberal Arts & Sciences (830 and 13.6%), Divinity & Ministry (432 and 7.06%), and General Business Administration & Management (386 and 6.31%).

The median tuition costs are $30,440 for private four year colleges, and $2,570 and $5,550 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, the percentage of applicants admitted was 60%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 21.9%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 30,099 (42.4% men and 57.6% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 30,099 students enrolled in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, 42.4% men and 57.6% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 12,015 records, of which 57.1% were women and 42.9% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Divinity & Ministry
263 degrees awarded
Other Business Administration, Management, & Operations
218 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
184 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL was Divinity & Ministry with 263 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Polk State College
1,854 degrees awarded
Southeastern University
1,636 degrees awarded
Florida Southern College
915 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Polk State College with 1,854 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 2,531 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL, which is 0.705 times less than the 3,590 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 3,220 degrees mean that there were 2.2 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 1,466 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($30,440) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,248) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,574) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL was $266,500 in 2024, which is 0.801 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $240,000 to $266,500, a 11% increase. The homeownership rate in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is 70.5%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL have an average commute time of 30.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$266,500

Median Property Value 2024

±$3,458

$203,945

Median Property Taxes

±$3,715

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

70.5%

Homeownership

2024

67.4%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 70.5% of the housing units in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 70%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$65,978

Median Household Income

± $1,143

289k

Number of Households

± 4,805

In 2024, the median household income of the 289k households in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL grew to $65,978 from the previous year's value of $63,644.

The following chart displays the households in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is from Florida.

0.471

2024 Wage GINI in Florida

0.473

2023 Wage GINI in Florida

In 2024, the income inequality in Florida was 0.471 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.383% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Florida was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Florida in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Florida across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (75%)
Worked At Home (12.4%)
Carpooled (8.82%)

In 2024, 75% of workers in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (12.4%) and those who carpooled to work (8.82%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

30.5 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL have a longer commute time (30.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 3.58% of the workforce in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

14.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL (112k out of 774k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Males 6 - 11.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is White, followed by Hispanic and Black.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.