Lake Wales is a city of 18,650 people (Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025; 16,361 in the 2020 Census) in east-central Polk County, where US-27 crosses State Road 60. Its land area has grown from 18.84 square miles in 2020 to 23.57 within the current boundary. City offices are at 201 West Central Avenue.
The Lake Wales Land Company founded the town in 1911 on 5,000 acres around Lake Wailes. It was incorporated in 1917 and received its city charter in 1921. The city describes its setting as rolling hills on the highest ground in peninsular Florida. Bok Tower Gardens, a National Historic Landmark three miles north of town, stands on Iron Mountain, 298 feet above sea level; its 205-foot carillon tower was dedicated on February 1, 1929.
Homes and neighborhoods
Lake Wales has 8,223 housing units (ACS 2020-2024). About 64 percent are single-family detached homes, 12 percent are in buildings of two to four units and 17 percent are in buildings of five or more. The median home was built in 1991: 37 percent were built before 1980 and 39 percent in 2000 or later.
Of 6,924 occupied homes, 4,099 are owner-occupied (59 percent) and 2,825 are rented, by the same survey.
County plat and parcel records (read in October 2026) place the named areas:
- The older neighborhoods around downtown and Lake Wailes sit on the original Lake Wales plats and later ones such as Pinehurst and Druid Hills.
- Dinner Lake Shores was platted in three phases from 2000 to 2005, with Dinner Lake Phase Four in 2005.
- Chalet Estates on Lake Suzanne was platted in 2000 and Whispering Ridge in 2007.
- Lake Ashton, northwest of downtown, was platted as Lake Ashton Golf Club in phases from 2002 to 2007. About 1,000 parcels are in the Lake Ashton Community Development District; a second district covers the part of the community in Winter Haven. Lake Ashton Living, the residents’ organization, describes it as a 55+ community; the age rule is a deed restriction, so read the recorded documents before you make an offer.
- Subdivisions platted since 2022 include Leomas Landing (2022 and 2025), Mabel Place (2023), Taylor Groves (2023), Hunt Club at Lake Wales (2024 and 2025), Reserve at Forest Lake (2024 and 2025), Robins Run (2024 and 2025) and Belle Lago on Lake Belle (2025).
The city has a Historic District Regulatory Board. If a home is in a historic district, ask the Planning Division what review applies before you plan exterior work.
To see what is listed now, search homes for sale in Lake Wales or new construction.
search homes for sale in Lake Walesnew construction
Property taxes in Lake Wales
Florida taxes a home on its assessed value less exemptions, times the millage of its taxing district. The 2025 rates:
| Taxing authority | 2025 millage |
|---|---|
| Polk County general fund | 6.6348 |
| Polk County School Board | 5.2900 |
| Southwest Florida Water Management District | 0.1831 |
| City of Lake Wales | 8.0462 |
| Total (mills) | 20.1541 |
Homes outside the city limits with a Lake Wales address pay the county’s unincorporated rate instead, 12.9291 mills in the Southwest Florida district in 2025.
On a home assessed at $250,000 with no homestead exemption, 20.1541 mills is about $5,039 for 2025. With homestead it is about $4,152: the exemption takes $25,000 off for all taxes and a second amount off the non-school taxes on value above $50,000 ($25,722 in 2025; it rises with inflation each January 1).
A homesteaded home’s assessed value can rise no more than 3 percent a year or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower (2.7 percent for 2026). Other residential property is capped at 10 percent a year, except for school taxes. A sale resets the assessment to market value the next January 1, so a buyer’s bill can be much higher than the seller’s. TRIM notices arrive in August (mailed from August 18 in 2025). Taxes are payable from November 1, with a 4 percent discount in November falling to 1 percent in February, and are delinquent April 1.
CDD and HOA fees
Polk County’s records list five Community Development Districts in the city: Lake Ashton, Hunt Club Grove (Hunt Club at Lake Wales), Leomas Landing, Peace Crossing and Ridgecrest. Their assessments are non-ad valorem lines on the tax bill. On the 2026 roll, one Lake Ashton lot shows $2,719.00 for maintenance and $539.74 for debt, and one Hunt Club at Lake Wales lot shows $695.13 and $1,459.74.
The single-family parcels we checked also carry the city’s fire protection assessment, $174.00 on the 2026 roll.
Each parcel’s lines are on its Property Appraiser record and its tax bill. HOA dues are separate. Florida’s estoppel certificate (section 720.30851, Florida Statutes) is how a buyer gets the association’s own figures, and we can request it and the HOA documents for a home you are considering.
Short-term rental rules
A home’s zoning and its association’s documents both have to allow short-term rental. The city’s zoning code (Chapter 23) lists hotels, motels and boarding houses in its use table, and allows a bed and breakfast in an owner-occupied single-family home by special exception. We found no separate short-term or vacation rental use in the code as published in October 2026, so ask the city’s Planning Division how it treats a specific address before buying for that purpose.
State law bars local rules that prohibit vacation rentals unless the rule was adopted on or before June 1, 2011. A short-term rental needs a vacation rental license from Florida’s DBPR, and stays of six months or less owe Polk County’s 5 percent tourist development tax, Florida’s 6 percent sales tax and the county’s sales surtax. Outside the city limits, Polk County’s Section 303 approves the use by subdivision or phase. Our rentals and property management pages cover longer leases.
Schools
Polk County Public Schools serves Lake Wales. Attendance zones go by address: the district’s School Zones page has an address lookup and a GeoZone map for a planned move. The district lists charter schools on its Charter Schools page.
Utilities
The city provides water, sewer and stormwater service, with accounts opened through its utility billing office. Republic Services collects household trash and recycling under the city’s contract. Duke Energy holds the electric franchise, which covers the city limits. Homes outside the limits may have other providers, so confirm for the address.
Getting around
From City Hall, the OpenStreetMap route to Orlando follows US-27 north about 23 miles to Interstate 4: about 39 miles and 59 minutes to the Magic Kingdom toll plaza and 54 miles and 76 minutes to Orlando International Airport, without traffic. Lakeland is about 28 miles and 41 minutes west by State Road 60 and US-98, and Tampa International Airport about 68 miles and 90 minutes by the Polk Parkway toll road and I-4. I-4 traffic is heavy at peak hours, so real times vary.
Citrus Connection’s routes here include the Lake Wales Circulator, Route 17X (Lake Wales and Haines City express), Route 27X (Dundee and Eagle Ridge Mall) and Route 30 (Legoland).
Flood zones and insurance
Flood zones go by parcel. The city sits on high ground, but the valleys around it hold many lakes, so search each address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center; Polk County Floodplain Management offers free flood assistance by phone. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation requires a four-point inspection (electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, roof) on homes more than 20 years old, which covers most of the city’s housing, and explains wind mitigation inspections on its site.
Parks and things to do
- Lake Wailes Park and the Lake Wailes Trail: a 2.5-mile lighted path for walking and cycling around the lake.
- The city counts more than 250 acres of public parks and athletic fields within its limits.
- Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Boulevard, about 2.5 miles from City Hall: gardens and the carillon tower.
- The Lake Wales History Museum, in the former 1928 Atlantic Coast Line depot downtown.
- LEGOLAND Florida in Winter Haven is about 11 miles and 17 minutes from City Hall.