What is the cost of living in Lakeland-Winter Haven?

Lakeland-Winter Haven has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 97.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 95.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,497/month.

What is the median salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven?

The median salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven is $60,941 annually (mean: $64,701). Top occupations include Stockers and Order Fillers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Lakeland-Winter Haven?

The violent crime rate in the Lakeland-Winter Haven area is 210 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1030 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Lakeland-Winter Haven?

The state of FL has 4,029 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 17.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Lakeland-Winter Haven?

Infant center-based childcare in the Lakeland-Winter Haven area averages $10,505 per year. Preschool averages $7,983/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Lakeland-Winter Haven a good place to relocate?

Lakeland-Winter Haven has a Life Score of 47.2/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Lakeland-Winter Haven sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Lakeland-Winter Haven ranks #252 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

BEA RPP 97.1 ranks #262 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

97.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,497
2BR rent / mo: $60,941
Median salary: 47.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Lakeland-Winter Haven ranks #252 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (47.5/100), with its strongest marks in climate and safety.

#252
of 387 US metros · Near median: 23,372,215
metro-area population: 210
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,029
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (17/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Lakeland-Winter Haven ranks #252 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 97.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,497/mo, median salary $60,941; LiveAbility Score 47.5/100, strongest in climate and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 97.1 ranks #262 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 97.1 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,497/mo.

LiveAbility 47.5/100 keeps Lakeland-Winter Haven in the middle third (#252 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Lakeland-Winter Haven area is 253,040.

Lakeland-Winter Haven vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

48 Top 65% higher than 35% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Lakeland-Winter Haven housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA; housing RPP 95.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,497/mo.

Studio

$1,226

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,230

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,497

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,023

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,511

/month

Lakeland-Winter Haven wages and employment

Lakeland-Winter Haven posts 253,040 total employment with median salary $60,941 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$60,941

Mean Salary

$64,701

Total Employment

253,040

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Stockers and Order Fillers	$39,690
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$42,800
Retail Salespersons	$31,820
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$57,090
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,050

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Lakeland-Winter Haven area from NCES.

Schools

4,029

Enrollment

2,838,009

Student:Teacher

17.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Lakeland-Winter Haven area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,505

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,611

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,983

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Lakeland-Winter Haven's composite Life Score is 47.2/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

32/100

Weak

Wages

27/100

Weak

Rent

31/100

Weak

Crime

87/100

Elite

Schools

83/100

Elite

Childcare

50/100

Average

Environment

42/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Lakeland-Winter Haven ranks #252 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 47.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (88/100)

Climate

88
Safety

87
Air quality

76
Low hazard

58
Cost of living

32
Housing

31
Job market

27
Schools

17

What this shows Lakeland-Winter Haven's strongest dimensions are climate and safety; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 17/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Lakeland-Winter Haven to

Syracuse Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Terre Haute Texarkana Toledo

Metros near Lakeland-Winter Haven on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Lakeland-Winter Haven on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Lakeland-Winter Haven cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Lakeland-Winter Haven wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Lakeland-Winter Haven?

Lakeland-Winter Haven runs a $60,941 median salary at a 97.1 cost index, ranking #252 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Lakeland-Winter Haven's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Lakeland-Winter Haven head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Lakeland-Winter Haven
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.