A Davenport address can be inside the City of Davenport or in unincorporated Polk County. The city, incorporated in 1915, had 18,110 residents in July 2025 by the Census Bureau’s estimate, up from 9,043 in the 2020 Census. City Hall is at 1 South Allapaha Avenue. The Davenport mailing address (ZIP codes 33837, 33896 and 33897) also covers county land around the city and north across Interstate 4, along US-27, to Four Corners.
Elite Realty Agency’s office at 200 Tuscan Hills Boulevard is in that county area: unincorporated Polk County, inside the Four Corners census-designated place, which had 56,381 residents in 2020 across parts of Lake, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties. City or county decides the tax rate, the utilities and the short-term rental rules. The Property Appraiser’s record for a parcel says which it is in.
Homes and neighborhoods
The city has 4,532 housing units (ACS 2020-2024): 84 percent are single-family detached homes and 11 percent are mobile homes. About 71 percent were built in 2010 or later, and the median home was built in 2015. County plat records show the subdivisions inside the city limits, among them Highland Meadows (plats recorded 2006 to 2018), Orchid Grove (2018), Bella Vita (2021 to 2024), Forest Lake (2021 and 2022), Geneva Landings (2021 and 2024) and Hartford Terrace (2023 and 2024).
The communities named on this page are all in unincorporated Polk County, by the county’s parcel and boundary maps:
- Solterra is north of the city, in the county’s Ronald Reagan Parkway plan district. Its plats were recorded from 2014 to 2020 and hold about 640 single-family lots and 120 townhomes. The Solterra Resort CDD owns a clubhouse, fitness center, pool with a slide and spa, lazy river, tennis and pickleball courts, playground and sand volleyball court.
- Tuscan Hills is off US-27 north of I-4. Its plat was recorded in January 2005, with 70 houses and 90 townhomes. The association’s site calls it a gated community where each home has its own pool, with a clubhouse, gym, tennis court and play area.
- Providence is northeast of the city. County records show about 2,700 parcels in 31 plats recorded from 2005 to 2025. Its own site describes a staffed gate, an 18-hole golf course designed by Michael Dasher, two pools, a fitness center and lighted tennis courts, and says it has no CDD fees.
- Highlands Reserve is off US-27 north of I-4. Its plats date from 1998 to 2002, and county records show 796 houses built from 1999 to 2005, 268 of them on golf course lots. Highlands Reserve Golf Club is an 18-hole course open to the public. The county’s map places the community inside the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern, which the Polk City guide explains.
- Windsor Island Resort, near Tuscan Hills, was platted from 2020 to 2022 with 517 houses and 272 townhomes. Its association’s site describes 789 vacation homes behind a gate, with a pool and lazy river.
To see what is listed now, search homes for sale in Davenport or new construction. ChampionsGate, across the county line, has its own guide.
Polk City guidesearch homes for sale in Davenportnew constructionChampionsGate
Property taxes in Davenport
Florida taxes a home on its assessed value less exemptions, times the millage of its taxing district. The 2025 rates:
| Taxing authority | City of Davenport | Unincorporated area |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County general fund | 6.6348 | 6.6348 |
| Polk County School Board | 5.2900 | 5.2900 |
| Southwest Florida Water Management District | 0.1831 | 0.1831 |
| City of Davenport | 7.2500 | none |
| County parks, library and stormwater units | none | 0.8212 |
| Total (mills) | 19.3579 | 12.9291 |
Some county parcels, including most of Providence, are in the South Florida Water Management District instead, for a total of 12.9761.
On a home assessed at $350,000 with no homestead exemption, that is about $6,775 in the city and $4,525 in the county area for 2025. With homestead the figures are about $5,930 and $4,005. 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
A Community Development District’s assessment is a non-ad valorem line on the tax bill, on top of the millage. Solterra Resort CDD’s schedule for fiscal year 2025-2026 runs from $3,618.80 to $4,629.72 per home by lot type. Polk County’s records list other districts here: Astonia and Sandmine Road (Windsor Island Resort) in the county area, and North Powerline Road (Bella Vita), Highland Meadows, Holly Hill Road East, Forest Lake, East 547 (Geneva Landings), Davenport Road South (Orchid Grove) and Hartford Terrace in the city.
County-area bills also carry Polk County’s fire services assessment ($385.00 for a single-family home on the 2026 roll) and, where the county collects trash, $366.80 for waste collection and disposal. City parcels we checked carry a $60.00 stormwater assessment.
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.
In unincorporated Polk County, the Land Development Code defines a short-term rental unit as a dwelling offered more than three times a year for stays under 30 days. Section 303 approves the use by subdivision or phase, not house by house: a home may not be rented short term unless its whole subdivision, or its phase, has approval. In the county’s use tables it is a conditional use in the residential districts these communities sit in (RL-1, RL-4 and RM, in the North US 27 and Ronald Reagan Parkway plan districts). An approved subdivision carries a note on its plat and a recorded Notice of Short-Term Rentals, each rental registers yearly with the Land Development Division, and deed restrictions against short-term rental stay enforceable.
Inside the City of Davenport, the Unified Land Development Regulations (updated March 2, 2026) list short-term rentals as permitted with conditions in all 13 residential zoning districts, and Section 4.03.19 says they “are allowed per State of Florida statutes”. State law bars local rules that prohibit vacation rentals unless the rule was adopted on or before June 1, 2011.
What the communities’ own sites say: Windsor Island Resort’s association describes its houses as vacation homes, Solterra Resort CDD’s amenity rules set a resort fee for short-term renters, and Tuscan Hills’ association refers to short-term rental guests. Providence’s site does not address rentals and we found no association site for Highlands Reserve, so read the recorded documents for those.
A short-term rental also needs a vacation rental license from Florida’s DBPR. 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. See our property management page.
Schools
Polk County Public Schools serves the city and the county area. 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
In the city, the Utilities Division runs water and sewer, and Public Services provides trash removal. In the county area, Polk County Utilities supplies water and wastewater; the county’s service-area map includes Tuscan Hills, Highlands Reserve, Windsor Island Resort, Solterra and Providence. The county contracts with GFL and FCC Environmental for once-a-week trash pickup, billed on the tax bill. For electricity, the Florida Public Service Commission’s map shows each utility’s service area.
Getting around
From City Hall, the OpenStreetMap route to Walt Disney World follows County Road 547 and US-27 to I-4: about 23 miles and 36 minutes without traffic. Orlando International Airport is about 37 miles and 53 minutes by I-4 and the State Road 417 toll road. From Tuscan Hills Boulevard, the route to the Magic Kingdom toll plaza runs up US-27 to US-192: about 15 miles and 27 minutes. I-4 traffic is heavy at peak hours, so real times vary.
Citrus Connection runs express buses here: Route 18X (Posner Park and Four Corners), 19X (Posner Park and Poinciana) and 20X (Haines City and Davenport). The Central Florida Expressway Authority is extending the Poinciana Parkway toll road (State Road 538) 3.1 miles north to County Road 532. Brightline’s Orlando station is at the airport.
Flood zones and insurance
Flood zones go by parcel. Search an 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 takes in Highlands Reserve, and explains wind mitigation inspections on its site.
Parks and things to do
- Lewis W. Mathews Sports Complex: turf fields for baseball, softball, football and soccer.
- Tom Fellows Community Center, opened in October 2021: two gymnasiums and a fitness center.
- Wilson Park, 5 State Street: a splash pad, playground and pavilions.
- Lake Play: fishing, a playground and a quarter-mile path around the lake.
- Northeast Regional Park, 50901 US-27 in Four Corners (Polk County): six turf multipurpose fields, four turf ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, a dog park and a boat launch.