Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0Measured against area pay, Davenport costs more to live in than 97% of U.S. towns
It ranks #553 of 637 in Florida for affordability. Down 3.3% in a year, 10% below the Florida typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area ($66K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Lakeland metro earn ($66K, Census 2020–24). Even so, the typical home costs 5.1 years of metro income, and 66% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $339Ktypical home, 10% below the Florida typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,980a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 97prices across the Lakeland metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 96)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 5.1 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$66K, Lakeland-area income
- 35%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 66%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Florida: 60%Census 2020–24
- 44%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Davenport’s housing numbers say
Prices are 12% below their 2022 peak
The typical Davenport home peaked at $387K in September 2022 and is worth about $339K now. Florida as a whole is 7% off its own peak. Over five years, Davenport is still up 14%. Price trend ↓
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in May, it would take about 8.4 months to sell everything listed (Florida: 4.7). The typical home took 49 days to sell and sold at 98% of asking. Only 9.5% sold above the asking price. How fast homes sell ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of Davenport’s homes were built after 2015, against 1988 for Florida as a whole. Property taxes ↓
Building at 3 times the Florida pace
Builders were permitted 308 new homes in 2025: 23 per 1,000 residents, against 8.3 across Florida. That’s 5,320 in the past 10 years. New homes ↓
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 1.04% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 0.76% across Florida. The median bill is $3,457 (Florida: $2,730). On the typical home, that’s about $290 a month. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Davenport’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Davenport is more affordable than 3% of U.S. towns, #553 of 637 in Florida. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have lagged Florida: the typical Davenport home is up 13.6% in five years, against 18.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 13.6% in five years
Slower than Florida (18.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Davenport | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $194,000 | $209,000 |
| 2018 | $207,000 | $226,000 |
| 2019 | $225,000 | $241,000 |
| 2020 | $239,000 | $252,000 |
| 2021 | $260,000 | $276,000 |
| 2022 | $328,000 | $339,000 |
| 2023 | $381,000 | $392,000 |
| 2024 | $374,000 | $402,000 |
| 2025 | $366,000 | $396,000 |
| 2026 | $346,000 | $377,000 |
| September 2026 | $339,000 | $375,000 |
A typical Davenport home worth $191K in October 2016 is worth about $339K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A buyer's market
More homes are for sale than are selling — about 8 months of supply. Buyers have room to negotiate.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 5.1 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Davenport’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $87K short of a typical Davenport home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,980 a month here, $90 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Davenport’s typical property tax (1.04% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,980
Renters already here pay a median of $1,914.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
308 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 308 new homes in Davenport in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $131.4 million to build. That's 23 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Florida (8.3). Over the past 10 years, Davenport has permitted 5,320 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Davenport gained 6,155 residents while 2,047 new homes were permitted: about 3 new residents per new home, about the same as across Florida (2.8).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 215 | 215 | 0 | $104.3 million |
| 2025 | 308 | 308 | 0 | $131.4 million |
| 2024 | 591 | 587 | 4 | $237.3 million |
| 2023 | 662 | 662 | 0 | $259.7 million |
| 2022 | 621 | 489 | 132 | $206 million |
| 2021 | 1,045 | 1,043 | 2 | $354.7 million |
| 2020 | 515 | 515 | 0 | $155 million |
| 2019 | 655 | 585 | 70 | $183.5 million |
| 2018 | 303 | 303 | 0 | $86.8 million |
| 2017 | 371 | 361 | 10 | $65.4 million |
| 2016 | 249 | 249 | 0 | $21.1 million |
| 2015 | 205 | 205 | 0 | $32.9 million |
| 2014 | 135 | 135 | 0 | $17.8 million |
| 2013 | 92 | 92 | 0 | $10.5 million |
| 2012 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2011 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2010 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| 2009 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2008 | 52 | 52 | 0 | $7.3 million |
| 2007 | 207 | 207 | 0 | $30.8 million |
| 2006 | 86 | 86 | 0 | $15.2 million |
| 2005 | 27 | 7 | 20 | $2.1 million |
| 2004 | 15 | 13 | 2 | $1.3 million |
| 2003 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $940,000 |
| 2002 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2001 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $844,000 |
| 2000 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $711,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Florida norm
The median bill is $3,457 (Florida: $2,730), 1.04% of a home’s value a year, against 0.76% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Davenport
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area, or Florida. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 97 | FL 103 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | FL 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 87 | FL 90 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | FL 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Davenport vs. its neighbors
Of the 2 towns here with a Zillow value, Davenport has the 2nd-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davenport | D− | $339K | $333K | 1.04% | $1,980 |
| Haines City | D | $293K | $289K | 1.09% | $1,460 |
Questions about the cost of living in Davenport
Is Davenport expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Davenport costs more than 97% of U.S. towns: a D− for cost of living, #553 of 637 in Florida. The typical home costs 5.1 years of the median household income of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area ($66K).
How much does a house cost in Davenport?
About $339K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 3.3% in a year. The Florida typical home is $375K.
What salary do you need to live in Davenport?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $89,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,070 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $79,000.
How much is rent in Davenport?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,980 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,914 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Davenport?
The median bill is $3,457 a year, 1.04% of the median home value (Florida: $2,730, 0.76%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Davenport going up?
No: down 3.3% in the past year and 13.6% in five years, against 18.6% across Florida (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Davenport buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.