Best PlacesLake Wales, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lake Wales, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lake Wales ranks 1,821st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lake Wales
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.
Lake Wales' strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake Wales ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of cities
- QuietBetter than 94% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 144 pleasant days a year, better than 80% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of cities
Where Lake Wales ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Household income$55,984 median, better than only 4% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lake Wales
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake Wales home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,984, 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 Lake Wales' effective rate of 0.79%, 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 Lake Wales
Lake Wales runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lake Wales.
Who works in Lake Wales, and how
Work in Lake Wales centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lake Wales
Lake Wales has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of cities and more parkland per resident than 81% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lake Wales and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lake Wales, month by month
Lake Wales sees roughly 144 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 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° | 62° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 74° |
| October | 85° | 76° | 69° |
Flying in and out of Lake Wales
Orlando International sits about 39 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 28.1 million passengers in 2025, with 223 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Lake Wales
Schools across Lake Wales average a C+, better than 33% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Harmony Community SchoolA · 65% proficient
- St. Cloud Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Chain Of Lakes Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Cloud Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Bok AcademyB+ · 49% proficient
- Edward W Bok Academy NorthB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Harmony High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Lake Wales Senior High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Bartow Senior High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake Wales school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake Wales 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 Lake Wales against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Lake Wales suits
Families
Schools land around the 33rd percentile and crime safety beats 57%.
Common questions about living in Lake Wales
Is Lake Wales a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake Wales ranks 1,821st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on health outcomes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lake Wales expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,853. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $55,984 median income, cost of living beats 8% of cities.
Is Lake Wales safe?
Yes, Lake Wales is safer than 57% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $212 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lake Wales?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 51. That works out to about 144 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of cities.
Is Lake Wales good for families?
Schools beat 33% of cities, crime safety beats 57%, and childcare runs $844 a month.
Compare Lake Wales with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake Wales. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake Wales 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.
Lake Wales detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake Wales: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake Wales: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake Wales: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake Wales: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake Wales 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.