PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

47.9
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#223
of 387 metros
42%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Lakeland ranks #223 of 387 US metros, ahead of 42% - carried by its safety (87/100) and held back most by wages (27/100).

87
strongest: Safety
83
then: Schools
27
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Lakeland sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

48 42th percentile higher than 42% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Lakeland Life Score

Lakeland's composite score of 47.9 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #223 of 387, ahead of 42% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (87/100) and Schools (83/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (27/100) and Rent (31/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 97.1 (rent-RPP 95.9). BLS median salary $60,941, 253,040 jobs (Stockers and Order Fillers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,497/mo (studio $1,226).

FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL). Ranks #220-#226 below.

Dimension detail

How Lakeland scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 32/100 (20%)
Wages 27/100 (20%)
Rent 31/100 (15%)
Safety 87/100 (15%)
Schools 83/100 (10%)
Childcare 50/100 (10%)
Environment 50/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$60,941
Avg Median Salary
$1,497
2BR Fair Market Rent
210
Violent Crime/100K (FL)
17.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,505
Infant Childcare/yr (FL)
81
Superfund Sites (FL)
253,040
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Lakeland With...

Lakeland vs Wildwood Compare → Lakeland vs Jacksonville Compare → Lakeland vs Tallahassee Compare → Lakeland vs Waterloo Compare → Lakeland vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Lakeland outranks 42% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#220 St. George, UT 48.0 C+
#221 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 48.0 C+
#222 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 48.1 C+
#223 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 47.9 C+
#224 Boise City, ID 47.9 C+
#225 Port St. Lucie, FL 47.7 C+
#226 Victoria, TX 47.7 C+

FL Metro Scores

Wildwood-The Villages, FL A+ 71.6 Jacksonville, FL B+ 59.0 Tallahassee, FL B 54.9 Sebring, FL B 54.8 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL B 52.8 Homosassa Springs, FL B- 51.0

Using Lakeland's Life Score

Lakeland is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (87/100) and its weakest is wages (27/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Lakeland head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Lakeland lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Lakeland's biggest strengths? ▼
Lakeland's strongest dimensions are Safety (87/100), Schools (83/100), Childcare (50/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Lakeland's weakest areas? ▼
Lakeland's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (27/100), Rent (31/100), Cost of Living (32/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Lakeland compared to the national average? ▼
Lakeland's Regional Price Parity is 97.1 (2.9% less than national); rent RPP 95.9.
What is the average salary in Lakeland? ▼
Lakeland median salary: $60,941, 253,040 jobs. Top: Stockers and Order Fillers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Lakeland's 47.9/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.