Best PlacesLakeland, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Lakeland metro, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Photo by Thomas R. Radzak, CC BY-SA 3.0, via commons
Lakeland ranks 263rd of 387 U.S. metro areas on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 49 minutes away. Its strengths are state infrastructure and low taxes. The cost shows up in long commutes, car insurance costs, and summer heat.
The best neighborhoods in the Lakeland metro
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.
The best areas in Lakeland
The towns and districts of the Lakeland metro, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the metro.
Mulberry, Fuller Heights & Lakeland Highlands
Fewer homes sit empty, heat risk is lower, and local pay stretches further.
Auburndale, Lake Alfred & Polk City
Crime runs lower, though commutes are longer.
Crystal Lake
Biking is better, though it is noisier.
Downtown Lakeland
Scores close to Crystal Lake, except that streets are more car-dependent here.
Davenport, Haines City & Poinciana
Homes cost more and prices have run up more.
Bartow & Fort Meade
More households have young kids, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Winter Haven
Incomes run lower.
Dundee
Scores close to Winter Haven, except that more residents vote here.
Lake Wales & Frostproof
Health outcomes score lower and advertised internet is slower.
Lakeland shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Lakeland's strengths and weaknesses
Lakeland lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State infrastructure is the standout, in the top 3% of metro areas. Low taxes and a strong job market follow.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. Car insurance costs and summer heat also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Lakeland ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of metro areas
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of metro areas
- Local economyBetter than 94% of metro areas
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of metro areas
- Nice weatherabout 137 pleasant days a year, better than 81% of metro areas
Where Lakeland ranks low
- Short commute30.5 minutes each way, better than only 4% of metro areas
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of metro areas
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of metro areas
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of metro areas
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 13% of metro areas
What it costs to buy a home in Lakeland
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lakeland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,281, 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 Lakeland's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 Lakeland
Lakeland's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lakeland.
Who works in Lakeland, and how
Work in Lakeland 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 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Lakeland
Lakeland has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most metro areas and less parkland per resident than most metro areas. The coast is about 49 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lakeland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lakeland growing, and who is moving in?
Lakeland has grown about 34% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Tampa, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lakeland go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lakeland, month by month
Lakeland sees roughly 137 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 Lakeland
Tampa International sits about 35 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 Lakeland
Schools across Lakeland average a C, better than 30% of metro areas.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Avenue AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- Lakeland Montessori School HouseA+ · 78% proficient
- Magnolia Montessori AcademyA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lakeland Montessori Middle SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Lawton Chiles Middle AcademyA+ · 71% proficient
- Berkley Accelerated Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Mckeel Academy Of TechnologyA · 78% proficient
- Lakeland Senior High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Harmony High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lakeland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Lakeland against the other 386 metro areas.
Who Lakeland suits
Families
Schools land around the 30th percentile and crime safety beats 73%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 81% of metro areas and it is quieter than 75%.
Common questions about living in Lakeland
Is Lakeland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lakeland ranks 263rd of 387 metro areas. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on long commutes 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 Lakeland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $260,991. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $70,281 median income, cost of living beats 24% of metro areas.
Is Lakeland safe?
Yes, Lakeland is safer than 73% of metro areas. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lakeland?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 51. That works out to about 137 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of metro areas.
What are the best neighborhoods in Lakeland?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mulberry, Fuller Heights & Lakeland Highlands, Auburndale, Lake Alfred & Polk City, and Crystal Lake. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Lakeland good for families?
Schools beat 30% of metro areas, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $844 a month.
Is Lakeland good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 24% of metro areas, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 90% of metro areas. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare Lakeland with other metro areas
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lakeland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Lakeland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lakeland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lakeland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lakeland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lakeland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.