Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fort Meade earns a D−, 597th of 634 graded towns in Florida, mostly because of health and schools. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its public schools trail 88% of Florida towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, it has 8 miles of trail. Fort Meade’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, where Florida’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 66 of Florida’s 774 towns score lower on incomes. Fort Meade has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Christ Church and Fort Meade Historic District.
Where Fort Meade beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
4.3% of the town is conserved land, across 3 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Fort Meade is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 105 in 1880, 5,100 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Meade, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Fort Meade.
Fort Meade has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has household incomes well below the Florida norm.
Against the 1,551 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fort Meade’s, it is less healthy than 78%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
21% of adults report frequent physical distress in Fort Meade. Fort Meade beats the Florida average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 25. 32% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Fort Meade.
| Fort Meade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 20% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 25% | 25% |
| What stands out | Fort Meade | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.8% | 78.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24% | 12.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Polk school district. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Fort Meade Middle/Senior High School, with 731 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Anna Woodbury Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 593 | C |
| Fort Meade Middle/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 731 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
7.6 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Fort Meade’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Patterson Park, at 44 acres.
| Fort Meade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Patterson Park | 0.1 mi | 44 |
| 2. Monument Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Heritage Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
78.9% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 60.1% across Florida. The median property tax bill is $1,233, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Fort Meade home is worth about $226,000, down 1.8% in a year, 40% below the Florida typical home. The median rent in Fort Meade is $922 a month.
| Fort Meade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $922 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 2,499 working residents takes 40.2 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
22% of Fort Meade residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Fort Meade fell to 775 in 2023, 122 fewer than in 2013. Most working residents leave Fort Meade for work: only 6% work in town.
| Fort Meade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $37,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.8% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Bartow 1se weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 121 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. January nights average 49.2°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92.1°.
Fort Meade has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Fort Meade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 49°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Meade. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Theme parkLegoland Florida
17 mi Theme parkCypress Gardens
18 mi GardenBok Tower Gardens
28 mi MuseumFantasy of Flight34 mi Theme parkCircus World
34 mi Theme parkBoardwalk and BaseballLegoland Florida: Jacob Montgomery, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cypress Gardens: Bruchey at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Bok Tower Gardens: Averette, CC BY 3.0 · Fantasy of Flight: Valder137, CC BY 2.0 · Boardwalk and Baseball: Florida Memory, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Meade
About 3 of every 100 Fort Meade residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Where Fort Meade’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Fort Meade on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Fort Meade.
City in Florida, United States
Fort Meade is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Fort Meade had a population of 5,100. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was named for George Meade, at the time an Army lieutenant serving in Florida following the Second Seminole War. Fort Meade is home to Fort Meade Middle-Senior High School, several historic buildings, and Streamsong resort. The area is popular with kayakers and canoers.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Meade grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #597 of 634 in Florida. It grades D− for health and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($65,978 across the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
5 notable people were born here, including Andrew McCutchen and Evon Streetman.
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