WahnetaFL
A town of 3,876, settled in 1884.
Is Wahneta a good place to live?
Wahneta grades D− overall, 599th among Florida's 634 graded towns, mostly because of health and schools. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. Its public schools trail 88% of Florida towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: homes are within reach, about $98K for a typical one, or 1.5 years of the Lakeland metro’s $66K median household income. 33% of residents are under 18 in Wahneta, above both the Florida town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Only 32 of Florida’s 776 towns score lower on walkability. The biggest park or preserve is Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, at 25 acres.
Wahneta has shrunk 13% from 2010 to 2020
5,091 counted in 2010 and 4,409 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Wahneta grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Wahneta is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Walt Disney World Resort and 35 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wahneta. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi Theme parkWalt Disney World Resort
Big draw39 mi Theme parkUniversal Studios Florida9.5M visitors a year
Big draw38 mi Theme parkUniversal Epic Universe
3 mi Theme parkLegoland Florida
3 mi Theme parkCypress Gardens
Big draw39 mi Theme parkUniversal's Islands of Adventure9.5M visitors a yearPhoto credits
Walt Disney World Resort: Anthony Quintano from Westminster, United States, CC BY 2.0 · Universal Studios Florida: Radiobroadcastcenter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Universal Epic Universe: Martin Lewison, CC BY 2.0 · Legoland Florida: Jacob Montgomery, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cypress Gardens: Bruchey at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Universal's Islands of Adventure: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 2.5
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Moving to Wahneta: who provides what
Wahneta 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 Wahneta.
Wahneta trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has poverty well above the Florida rate.
A larger share of adults in Wahneta say their health is fair or poor than in the typical Florida or U.S. town
38% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Wahneta. Among 636 Florida towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who worry about having enough food than Wahneta. 47% of adults have obesity in Wahneta.
| Wahneta | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 20% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 32% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Wahneta | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 9.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 46.4% | 16.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Wahneta earns a D for schools
Its public schools are run by the Polk school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wahneta Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 491 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Most working residents commute out of Wahneta
Wahneta has 260 jobs for its 1,792 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 332 in 2013 to 260.
Most working residents leave Wahneta for work: only 1% work in town. 24% of Wahneta residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Wahneta has lost 72 jobs, to 260 in 2023.
| Wahneta | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
High risk in Wahneta, with hurricanes at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wahneta.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Wahneta has mild winters and hot summers
The Bartow 1se weather station, 8 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 92.3°.
Wahneta has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Wahneta’s January low is 50°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Wahneta | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 50°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.2% of Wahneta is conserved land
Just 32 of its 1,448 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Wahneta itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge | — | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Wahneta sells for about $165K
Homes are within reach (A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles. At 1.5 years of the Lakeland metro’s $66K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 99% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
The median rent in Wahneta is $1,113 a month.
| Wahneta | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,113 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 Wahneta
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Wahneta
About 4 of every 100 Wahneta residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
99% of working residents leave Wahneta for work
Where Wahneta’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Wahneta
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Wahneta is a census-designated place (CDP) in central Polk County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Wahneta had a population of 4,409. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 131 ft
- Area code
- 863
Wahneta’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Wahneta.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wahneta | #599 | D− | A− | — | D | D− |
| Eagle Lake | #629 | D− | D | — | D | C− |
| Winter Haven | #607 | D− | C− | C | D | C− |
Wahneta and Eagle Lake report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wahneta with a neighbor →
Questions about Wahneta
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Wahneta, FL a good place to live?
Wahneta grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #599 of 634 in Florida. It grades D− for health and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Wahneta, FL expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $98,000, 74% below 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 A−.