Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town with more to fix than most. The weak point is cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $278K, 3.7 years of the Cape Coral metro’s $76K median household income. Lehigh Acres’s overall grade is D−, better than 4% of U.S. towns. It ranks 584th of 634 in Florida. Health is weaker too: residents are less healthy than 77% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Hazard risk is weaker too (D) — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. On history, just 16 of Florida’s 779 towns do worse. Lehigh Acres’ typical journey to work is 38 minutes, where Florida’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Lehigh Acres beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
86,784 counted in 2010 and 114,287 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Lehigh Acres is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,394 in 1970, 114,287 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1899 and a map from 1981 on.
Lehigh Acres is unincorporated, so Lee 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Lehigh Acres.
Lehigh Acres has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak, but it scores below Fort Myers and its other neighbors on health.
Since 1978, 60 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lehigh Acres. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 71% come from hurricanes and 20% from inland flooding. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Two of its 15 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Lee school district. Public school enrollment in Lehigh Acres: 8,081 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Park Academy for the ArtsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,937 | C+ |
| Lehigh Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,550 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Walkers can cover 46 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Hickey Creek Greenbriar Connector Preserve, 522 acres with 1.9 miles of trail. Lehigh Acres’ trail network density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Lehigh Acres | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hickey Creek Greenbriar Connector Preserve | 1.9 mi | 522 |
| 2. Veteran's Community Park | 0.6 mi | 76 |
| 3. Lehigh Acres Community Park North | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than that grade, from Fort Myers (C+) to Buckingham (B).
Lehigh Acres: 32% of adults get no exercise outside work. In Lehigh Acres, 24% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Lehigh Acres | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 25% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 20% | 19% |
| What stands out | Lehigh Acres | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.7% | 7.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 24.3% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 48,611 working residents takes 38.2 minutes, against 28 across Florida. Jobs based here grew from 6,423 in 2013 to 10,736.
The top destinations are Fort Myers (19%), Cape Coral (5%) and Villas (3%). Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Lehigh Acres rose by 4,313, to 10,736. Also worth knowing: for residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 17%. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 9% of working residents work locally.
| Lehigh Acres | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.6% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $278K, is 15% below its March 2024 peak.
On the market in Lehigh Acres: a median 78 days to sell. Values fell 5.3% in the year to September 2026. Lehigh Acres’ median rent stands at $1,657 a month.
| Lehigh Acres | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,657 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 59% | 59% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Immokalee weather station, 16 miles away, records that about 123 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. January nights average 52.2°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92.2°.
Snow is almost unheard of. In Lehigh Acres, the January low is 52°F.
| Lehigh Acres | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 52°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lehigh Acres. Close and well known come first.
31 mi National PreserveBig Cypress National Preserve2.3M visitors a year
15 mi Stadium & arenaHertz Arena
15 mi MuseumEdison and Ford Winter Estates
17 mi State parkKoreshan State Historic Site19 mi State parkMound Key Archeological State Park
38 mi State parkCayo Costa State ParkBig Cypress National Preserve: Gzzz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hertz Arena: Tthaas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edison and Ford Winter Estates: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Koreshan State Historic Site: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cayo Costa State Park: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea_pauline/, CC BY-SA 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lehigh Acres
About 5 of every 100 Lehigh Acres residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Where Lehigh Acres’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Florida
Lehigh Acres is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 Census the population was 114,287, up from 86,784 at the 2010 census. Lehigh Acres is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of the fastest growing communities in Lee County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Lehigh Acres.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Fort Myers (D) is closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lehigh Acres | #584 | D− | C− | — | C+ | C− |
| Buckingham | #410 | C | C− | — | C+ | B |
| Alva | #464 | C− | C | — | C+ | B |
| Fort Myers | #570 | D | D− | C− | C+ | C+ |
Lehigh Acres, Buckingham and Alva report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lehigh Acres with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lehigh Acres grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #584 of 634 in Florida. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
