Best PlacesCleveland Heights, Lakeland, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Cleveland Heights, Lakeland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland ranks 2,781st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and transit ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cleveland Heights, Lakeland ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$844 a month, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Cleveland Heights, Lakeland ranks low
- TransitBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 30% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cleveland Heights, Lakeland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,649, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Cleveland Heights, Lakeland's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cleveland Heights, Lakeland.
Who works in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland, and how
Work in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
The coast is about 35 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Cleveland Heights, Lakeland, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland, month by month
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 60° | 51° |
| April | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 85° | 76° | 68° |
Flying in and out of Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
Tampa International sits about 36 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.1 million passengers in 2025, with 135 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
Schools across Cleveland Heights, Lakeland average a B−, better than 63% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Cleveland Court Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Southwest Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Carlton Palmore Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southwest Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Lakeland Senior High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- George W. Jenkins Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Kathleen Senior High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cleveland Heights, Lakeland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Cleveland Heights, Lakeland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland
Is Cleveland Heights, Lakeland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cleveland Heights, Lakeland ranks 2,781st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and fast internet, and lowest on transit and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cleveland Heights, Lakeland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,138. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $73,649 median income, cost of living beats 54% of neighborhoods.
Is Cleveland Heights, Lakeland safe?
Yes, Cleveland Heights, Lakeland is safer than 77% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $203 per resident a year.
Compare Cleveland Heights, Lakeland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cleveland Heights, Lakeland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cleveland Heights, Lakeland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cleveland Heights, Lakeland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cleveland Heights, Lakeland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cleveland Heights, Lakeland detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.