PlainZIP

Lake Wales, FL

Single-footprint Census roll-up for Lake Wales, FL: 3 USPS ZIPs, population 37,098. Open the primary ZIP for household income, housing tenure, and commute from ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates.

U.S. Census Bureau, SimpleMaps US ZIP Code Database, delivery-area ZIP coverage

ACS city ledger plate

Sheet LAKE-WALES-FL · Lake Wales, FL 3 ZIPs · 37,098 pop · #20670/25278 · Polk County

INC-MID · RANK-BOTTOM · ABOVE-PEER · BOOK-FEW · OWN-MID · POP-SMALL · SPREAD-MOD · HOME-LOW

  • INC-MID $53,153
  • RANK-BOTTOM #20670/25278
  • ABOVE-PEER over Frostproof
  • BOOK-FEW 3 ZIPs
  • OWN-MID 71% owners
  • POP-SMALL 37,098
  • SPREAD-MOD 33853→33859
  • HOME-LOW $197,667

Nearest income peer: Frostproof, FL ( $2,650 income $)

Instrument codes from this city’s ACS household income, national rank, county-peer gap, ZIP book, owner tenure, population scale, intra-city income spread, and home-value band, not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Lake Wales

Lowest/highest poles plus county-sharing cities nearest Lake Wales on average ZIP median household income. Full ladder: /cities.

median HH income

What this shows County-sharing peers only, not the full US city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the mosaic is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-25

National city placement

According to ACS 5-Year Estimates, Lake Wales, FL sits among US cities with one of the lowest household incomes among US cities, on a small-city population base, across a handful of delivery areas.

18th pct
household income vs 25,278 US cities
37,098
city population (Census)
3
USPS ZIP codes covered
$53,153
avg ZIP median income

Income percentile ranks this city's average ZIP median household income against 25,278 US cities with ACS income on at least one ZIP. Scale and ZIP-spread words come from Census population and USPS ZIP coverage.

Lower-income footing on only 3 ZIPs ($53,153 average) · poverty 18.4%. The primary code (33898) carries the ACS household fields that matter.

Owner-occupancy sits in a mixed band (70.6%) - check the ZIP page's tenure split before treating Lake Wales as a pure owner town.

Within Florida, Crystal River is the closest lower-income city and La Crosse the closest higher-income city by average ZIP household income. Their 2 and 1 ZIP footprints are the immediate statewide comparison set for Lake Wales.

Within-city ZIP comparison

Where the ZIP codes inside Lake Wales differ

The most material local contrast is hardship rather than the city-wide income average. Poverty is 10.7% in ZIP 33898 and 23.2% in 33859. That spread is why the ZIP detail pages are more useful than a single city figure for comparing household conditions.

Income high-to-low ratio
1.3×

33853 to 33859

Home-value high-to-low ratio
1.3×

33898 to 33859

Poverty-rate spread
12.5 points

33898 to 33859

Derived from the published ACS 2023 ZIP-level records shown on this site. A high-to-low ratio compares the highest and lowest available ZIP values; it is not a score or forecast.

Population concentration

Lake Wales residents split across a short ZIP set

No ZIP owns Lake Wales: the largest, 33898, is only about 41% of 37,098 residents across 3 codes. Compare at least two ZIPs before treating the city roll-up as a neighborhood answer.

Census ZBP business roll-up

Balanced ZBP roll-up inside compact Lake Wales

Citywide ZBP: 751 establishments, 11,174 employees , annual payroll $557,859k (~20 establishments per 1,000 residents) across 3 of 3 ZIPs. Peak business ZIP 33853 (374 units) ; leading NAICS Retail trade (142) · also Construction · Accommodation and food services .

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ZIP Codes in Lake Wales, FL

These ZIP codes sit in Polk County, which covers 38 ZIP codes in all; 3 of them fall in Lake Wales. See the Polk County roll-up →

Lake Wales sits in the lower half of Polk County on income: Lakeland, Kissimmee and Winter Haven report more, Frostproof and Fort Meade report less. Davenport marks the far end of that range at $75,642, 42% above Lake Wales.

Side-by-side: Compare 33898 vs 33853 →

ZIP Code Population Median income Establishments Density
33898 15,355 $57,224 186 19
33853 11,161 $44,474 374 528
33859 10,582 $57,760 191 91
How we build city roll-ups · Guide: reading ZIP code data · BLS wages

Lake Wales roll-ups here are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial or relocation advice. ACS and Census ZBP figures are estimates; confirm the current table against Census before a money or move decision involving Lake Wales, .