Metro Life Score
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 44th percentile of the national corpus.
- 48.2
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #217
- of 387 metros
- 44%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Lakeland-Winter Haven is below-median composite Life Score — #217 of 387 (48.2/100, grade C+, 44th percentile). Carried by safety at 95/100; held back most by wages at 30/100.
- 44th
- composite percentile
- #217
- of 387 peers
- 32nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 29th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature wages
Lakeland-Winter Haven: wage lag defines the peer set
Lakeland-Winter Haven is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 29th percentile (LOW) while cost is DEAR (32nd) and composite #217. Wages at 30/100 is the clearest drag; Safety (95/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL ranks #217 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #262 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Lakeland-Winter Haven sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
48 44th percentile higher than 44% of 387 US metros
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 · August 2026
How the 48.2 is built
Lakeland-Winter Haven's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Lakeland-Winter Haven scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Lakeland-Winter Haven With...
Ranking Context
Lakeland-Winter Haven outranks 44% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #214 | Charlottesville, VA | 48.3 | B- |
| #215 | Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 48.7 | B- |
| #216 | Bloomington, IL | 48.7 | B- |
| #217 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 48.2 | C+ |
| #218 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 48.2 | B- |
| #219 | Jacksonville, NC | 48.1 | C+ |
| #220 | Niles, MI | 48.1 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL's quality rank (bottom 44% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 33% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
FL Metro Scores
Read with Lakeland-Winter Haven
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Lakeland-Winter Haven (MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 48.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Charlottesville, VA
ABS(composite) peer at 48.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Jacksonville, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 48.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Niles, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 48.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Reading, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 33/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Madison, WI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 32/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Lakeland-Winter Haven's middle-third Life Score
Lakeland-Winter Haven scores 48.2/100 overall, but Safety (94.6) and Wages (29.5) sit 65.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Lakeland-Winter Haven's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.