Lakeland HighlandsFL
A town of 12,102.
Is Lakeland Highlands a good place to live?
Lakeland Highlands grades C overall, 325th of 634 graded towns in Florida, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $108K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 79% of the country. On the other side, its public schools trail 88% of Florida towns on state tests and graduation. Lakeland Highlands’ January low is 50°F, near the Florida town median (51°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (22°F).
Lakeland Highlands has grown 10% from 2010 to 2020
11,056 counted in 2010 and 12,187 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Lakeland Highlands grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Lakeland Highlands is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Walt Disney World Resort and 43 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lakeland Highlands. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi Theme parkWalt Disney World Resort
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaRaymond James Stadium
31 mi Stadium & arenaBenchmark International Arena
29 mi Theme parkBusch Gardens Tampa4.0M visitors a year
16 mi Theme parkLegoland Florida
16 mi Theme parkCypress GardensPhoto credits
Walt Disney World Resort: Anthony Quintano from Westminster, United States, CC BY 2.0 · Raymond James Stadium: NASA, Public domain · Benchmark International Arena: Miosotis Jade, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Busch Gardens Tampa: Wolle8ball, CC BY 3.0 · Legoland Florida: Jacob Montgomery, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cypress Gardens: Bruchey at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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Moving to Lakeland Highlands: who provides what
Lakeland Highlands is unincorporated, so Polk County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lakeland Highlands.
Lakeland Highlands has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has less tooth loss than most of Florida.
Lakeland Highlands earns a D for schools
Its public schools are run by the Polk school district. 735 students attend Lakeland Highlands’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Lake Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 735 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Lakeland Highlands earns an A− for health
Its widest gap with Florida is tooth loss: 6.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.7% statewide. That grade tops all 3 graded neighbors; Mulberry (B−) comes closest.
16% of Lakeland Highlands adults say their health is fair or poor. Against the Florida average, Lakeland Highlands comes out ahead on 16 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 1. Among adults locally, 9% worry about having enough food and 11% smoke cigarettes.
| Lakeland Highlands | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 20% | 19% |
| What stands out | Lakeland Highlands | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.8% | 12.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9% | 16.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A smaller share of residents live below the poverty line in Lakeland Highlands than in most of Florida or the rest of the country
Jobs in Lakeland Highlands fell by 326 from 2013 to 2023, to 2,727. Among working residents here, 2.8% work locally. Half commute less than 9 miles. Lakeland Highlands’ average trip to work comes in at 24 minutes.
| Lakeland Highlands | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest natural risk in Lakeland Highlands is hurricanes, at a high overall level
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in just over two thirds of U.S. communities. 44% of Lakeland Highlands’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by inland flooding at 34%. The national flood insurance program has paid 12 claims locally since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers: that is Lakeland Highlands’ year
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 49.6°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.6°.
Lakeland Highlands’ July high is 92°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Lakeland Highlands keeps 3.2% of its land conserved
Across 1 park or preserve: 0.9 miles of trail. The trail density for Lakeland Highlands comes to 0.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: one, of 17 acres.
| Lakeland Highlands | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Christina Park | 0.9 mi | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A home in Lakeland Highlands sells for about $450K at the median
For Lakeland Highlands, the median rent is $1,704 a month. In Lakeland Highlands, 84% of households are owner-occupiers. Homes sold in Lakeland Highlands spent a median 93 days on the market.
| Lakeland Highlands | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,704 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Lakeland Highlands
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lakeland Highlands
About 5 of every 100 Lakeland Highlands residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
97% of working residents leave Lakeland Highlands for work
Where Lakeland Highlands’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Lakeland Highlands
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Lakeland Highlands is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lakeland Highlands had a population of 12,187. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is an affluent residential community located south of the Lakeland city limits, and north of the Mulberry city limits. Lakeland Highlands neighbors Medulla, and together the two communities make up much of what is known as South Lakeland (unincorporated). The area is addressed to Lakeland, with zip codes 33807, 33812, and 33813. Its schools include, George W. Jenkins Senior High School (named after the founder of Publix Super M…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 223 ft
- Area code
- 863
Lakeland Highlands’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Lakeland Highlands.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Mulberry (C) comes closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Highlands | #325 | C | C− | — | D | A− |
| Medulla | #545 | D | C− | — | D | B− |
| Mulberry | #408 | C | B | — | D | B− |
| Lakeland | #567 | D | C− | C− | D | C |
Lakeland Highlands, Medulla and Mulberry report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lakeland Highlands with a neighbor →
Questions about Lakeland Highlands
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lakeland Highlands, FL a good place to live?
Lakeland Highlands grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #325 of 634 in Florida. It grades A− for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Lakeland Highlands, FL expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $385,000, 3% above the Florida typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.