July 1, 2025 Census estimate.
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City profile
Lake Wales, Florida
Lake Wales, Florida is part of the nationwide 5,000-plus population catalog, with Census population and ACS demographics, housing, income, education, employment, internet, and commute estimates.
Change from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 estimate for population age 25 and over.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 4.6% for June 2026 (preliminary).
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01002 median age estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01001 share of residents age 20 through 24.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25003 renter-occupied share of occupied housing units.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25002 vacant share of all housing units. This is not the rental vacancy rate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B28002 household broadband-subscription share; verify provider and address-level service separately.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08301 share of workers age 16+ who worked from home.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean from travel-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.
Research further for 22-25 college grads; medium-high source confidence.
ACS gross rent is 23.6% of median household income; compare utilities, tax, insurance, and personal debt separately.
City crime rates are not scored yet; verify FBI CDE and local police data before choosing a neighborhood.
Personal budget check
Can I afford Lake Wales?
Lower of your housing-share limit and remaining 50% needs budget.
2020-2024 ACS median gross rent, not a live listing quote.
Adjust the inputs to compare your target with the city baseline.
Planning estimate only. Gross salary is before tax. Verify current rent, utilities, insurance, deposits, taxes, debt terms, and take-home pay.
Recent grad lens
What matters for a 22-25 year old college grad
Use these sectors for first-pass job-board and LinkedIn searches.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates city civilian unemployment; BLS state unemployment is 4.6% for June 2026 preliminary.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates bachelor's-or-higher share for age 25+. Check nearby universities, community colleges, certificates, and employer-paid education benefits.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share of residents age 20 through 24. This is a peer-presence signal, not a measure of social fit.
ACS rent-to-income baseline using $1,110 median gross rent and $56,347 median household income. Verify utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual offer.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates median gross rent and owner-occupied median home value. Treat home value as a survey estimate, not a live listing price.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates share below poverty. Useful context for opportunity and service access; not a neighborhood-level measure.
Exact city/neighborhood rates are not scored yet; use FBI CDE, city police dashboards, and neighborhood-level checks.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates approximate commute from travel-time buckets. Confirm your actual route, parking, transit frequency, and remote-work expectations.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates worker commute-mode shares. Verify current route and service frequency.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates household broadband-subscription share. Confirm provider, speed, price, and address-level availability before moving.
Useful for social fit, networking, dating, outdoor access, and first-apartment quality of life.
Profile combines Census population estimates, ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates, BLS state unemployment, and transparent city/state tags.
Full profile
Lake Wales data coverage
U.S. Census July 1, 2025 city estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01002 median age estimate.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B01001 share of the total population age 20 through 24.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates: ACS median gross rent divided by ACS median household income. This is a city-wide baseline, not a personal budget.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25077 owner-occupied median value estimate; not a live listing-price feed.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25064 median gross rent estimate for renter-occupied units paying cash rent.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B19013 median household income estimate in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25002 vacant share of all housing units. This is broader than rental vacancy and does not measure live availability.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B25003 shares of occupied housing units.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B23025 city civilian unemployment estimate; labor-force participation is 44.9%. BLS state unemployment is still shown as a separate current job-market proxy.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B17001 share below poverty among people whose poverty status is determined.
Needs FBI Crime Data Explorer and local agency caveats before any rate or safety score is shown.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B15003 bachelor's degree or higher share for population age 25 and over. K-12 ratings still require NCES/state sources and boundary caveats.
Prioritize heat, humidity, hurricanes, flooding, and severe storms. Use NOAA normals and hazard history before comparing weather.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08303 approximate mean travel time from commute-time buckets for workers who did not work from home.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B08301 worker commute-mode shares.
2020-2024 ACS 5-year estimates B28002 broadband-subscription share; 10.0% report no internet access. Provider, speed, and address-level service still require FCC or provider data.
Current employer view is sector-level. Named employer lists require a sourced city/MSA employer layer.
Needs FAA airport records and drive-time checks.
Current lifestyle tags are transparent place signals. Venue and recreation detail remains queued.
Relocation read
Should Lake Wales be on your shortlist?
Lake Wales has added population since the 2020 estimates base, which can point to demand, job access, housing expansion, migration inflow, or some combination of those forces.
Southern cities often require especially careful tax, insurance, heat, commute, and storm-risk checks before a move. WhereToLive.us keeps those categories separate so a reader can see what is verified and what still needs source review.
ACS adds a city-level baseline for Lake Wales, Florida: median gross rent is $1,110, median household income is $56,347, bachelor's-or-higher share is 20.8%, city civilian unemployment is 5.9%, and approximate commute time is 26.1 min.
For a recent college grad, the first-pass profile is 68/100: research further. The main career tags are regional employers, healthcare, local services, schooling access is regional college access, and the BLS state unemployment proxy is 4.6% for June 2026.
For monetization and search quality, this page answers a specific relocation query without hiding the source gaps. It gives a reliable population, ACS, and state-job baseline, then points readers toward the school-boundary, crime, weather, tax, healthcare, and lifestyle checks that usually drive move decisions.
What the current data says
Lake Wales, Florida is part of the nationwide catalog of incorporated places with at least 5,000 residents. Its July 1, 2025 Census estimate is 18,650, ranking #2,055 among unique incorporated-place names in this source pass.
The current move signal is high growth, and the young-grad fit score is 68/100. This score is a transparent research shortcut, not a final recommendation. ACS 2020-2024 city/place estimates are live for demographics, rent, income, home value, housing occupancy, education, poverty, employment, household internet, and commute context. Crime, school boundaries, weather, healthcare, tax, utilities, live wages, provider-level broadband, and live listings still need source-specific refreshes before stronger advice is issued.
Housing and monthly costs
ACS rent, income, owner-occupied home value, occupancy, and tenure are live where matched. Verify current listings, deposits, utilities, insurance, parking, taxes, and roommate options in Lake Wales, Florida.
Data layer queuedJobs and education
ACS employment and education plus BLS state unemployment are live. Verify occupation wages, current openings, employer stability, degree programs, and alumni pipelines.
Data layer queuedSafety and health
Use FBI CDE, local police, CMS, and HRSA sources for neighborhood crime, hospital access, specialists, and shortage-area checks.
Data layer queuedClimate and daily access
ACS household broadband and commute modes provide baselines. Verify NOAA climate and hazards, FEMA risk, FCC address-level broadband, airports, commute routes, and local recreation before moving.
Data layer queuedLake Wales pros
- 18,650 residents in the verified 2025 Census estimate.
- Research further young-professional signal at 68/100.
- ACS demographics, housing, income, education, poverty, employment, internet, and commute estimates are live for this city.
- Competitive career signal from state job proxy and sector tags.
- 20.8% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal.
Lake Wales cons and checks
- ACS housing and income are city-wide survey estimates; verify a specific lease, salary offer, neighborhood, and listing market before deciding.
- Growth-pressure check is still a verification step, not a crime score.
- 26.1 min still needs route-level commute confirmation.
- Taxes, healthcare, utilities, provider-level broadband, and weather hazards still need source-specific layers.
Lake Wales research checklist
- Compare the 2025 population estimate against nearby cities and the state shortlist.
- Check whether population growth matches the local housing supply and commute tradeoffs.
- Layer in verified rent, wage, school, healthcare, tax, and safety data before making a move decision.
- Use official city, county, Census, BLS, HUD, NOAA, NCES, CMS, FCC, and state tax sources for final confirmation.
Common Lake Wales questions
- Is Lake Wales growing?
- Lake Wales, Florida is growing on the verified population measure, with +16.10% change from the 2020 estimates base to the 2025 estimate.
- Is Lake Wales good for a 22-25 year old college grad?
- Lake Wales, Florida currently scores 68/100 on the young-grad fit model, with a competitive career signal, 20.8% bachelor's-or-higher ACS education signal, rent stretched cost-pressure label, and 26.1 min commute signal. Treat that as a shortlist signal, not a guarantee.
- Is Lake Wales affordable?
- Lake Wales, Florida has ACS median gross rent of $1,110 and ACS median household income of $56,347. Use this as a city-wide baseline, then verify current apartments, utilities, insurance, taxes, and your actual salary offer.
- What should I verify before moving to Lake Wales?
- Verify current rent or mortgage cost, wage expectations, commute route, school or graduate-program access, city and neighborhood crime data, healthcare access, utility costs, taxes, internet availability, and social fit using primary sources.
- Does WhereToLive.us recommend Lake Wales?
- Not as final advice. The current page is a research baseline. A recommendation requires verified affordability, occupation wages, job postings, safety, school, healthcare, tax, weather, and commute layers.
Nearby comparison queue
Use these same-region cities as a fast starting point. The comparison tool keeps the math transparent and avoids hidden scores until each data layer is verified.