Haines City, Florida

Area Profile

34,234 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Haines City, in Polk County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 20% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity2514th of 3,904 published cities49
Schools2643rd of 2,668 published cities7
GrowthTop 3% of 2,973 published cities82
Housing affordability2507th of 4,223 published cities75
ClimateTop 19% of 4,223 published cities79
Physical resilience3615th of 4,182 published cities20
Access2504th of 4,226 published cities89
Economic stability3566th of 4,226 published cities38
The quick read

Unemployment is 6.4% and median household income $65,975, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published city profiles.

In the public schools here, 32% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 22.5 students for every teacher.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, strong wind and tornado.

At a glance

Population
34,234
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,975
Bottom 49% nationally
Density
1,436/sq mi
23.8 sq mi of land
Median age
38.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Polk County
Florida
Metro area
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
Nearest major airport
LAL
26 mi · Lakeland Linder Intl
Median home value
$288,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.4% is lower than 5% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 16,673 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,265$65,975Bottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,963$29,724Bottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.1%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute37.1 minTop 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher19.7%Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment16,673Bottom 18%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)9.2%Top 1%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.4%Top 20%June 2026
Labor force17,805Bottom 19%June 2026
Labor force participation60.6%Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$57,070Bottom 7%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,140Bottom 9%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)1.1%Top 3%June 2026
Unemployment rate6.4%Top 5%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.13.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.4% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202466k50k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $65,975 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Stockers and Order Fillers9,400$39,690
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand8,440$42,800
Retail Salespersons8,220$31,820
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers7,820$57,090
Fast Food and Counter Workers7,380$28,050
Registered Nurses6,140$84,030

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

32% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 22.5 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
22.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
32.0%
Bottom 7% in Florida
Reading proficiency
35.7%
Bottom 9% in Florida
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
HAINES CITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLPOLK3,10525.5
SHELLEY S. BOONE MIDDLE SCHOOLPOLK1,32926.633%27%
SANDHILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLPOLK1,11118.820%37%
ALTA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLPOLK78017.334%37%
EASTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLPOLK72521.334%29%
DANIEL JENKINS ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY MIDDLE SCHOOLPOLK50620.237%47%
BETHUNE ACADEMYPOLK43021.547%57%
HAINES CITY HEADSTART CENTERPOLK0

70.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,224 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.4 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
22.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.4×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,224
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$288,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.38Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.0%Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±56213,711Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$110$1,224Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,468$288,900Top 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.3%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate16.0%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
82/ 100
Top 3% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing — 2 consecutive years, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 51% since 2020, reaching 42,073 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 43.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,490
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
43.5
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
+6%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202442k28k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
202020222023202420252k768
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+89%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 52°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.1 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WINTER HAVEN GILBERT AP, 9.1 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND7.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index58.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation46.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low52°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10012024 calendar year
Median air quality index39.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing22°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

20 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, strong wind and tornado.

Strong windHigh
HurricaneElevated
WildfireModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, inland flooding, heat wave, hail, drought, earthquake.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Polk County records 2.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.4 per 100,000 residents in Polk County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
14.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
13.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Polk County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Haines City rather than Haines City itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 26 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lakeland Linder IntlLAL26 mi8,500 ft
Orlando IntlMCO29 mi10,000 ft
Orlando Sanford IntlSFB51 mi11,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
52
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Other cities in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
LakelandPolk County119,96150vs Haines City
Winter HavenPolk County55,20051vs Haines City
BartowPolk County20,43854vs Haines City
AuburndalePolk County18,53056vs Haines City
Lake WalesPolk County16,78549vs Haines City
Highland CityPolk County13,276vs Haines City
DavenportPolk County13,23850vs Haines City
Lakeland HighlandsPolk County12,102vs Haines City
MedullaPolk County10,985vs Haines City
Fuller HeightsPolk County10,083vs Haines City
Cypress GardensPolk County10,077vs Haines City

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Haines City

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
3384451,255$63,65052