Welcome to Lake Wales ...

The city of Lake Wales is located in Polk County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Lake Wales, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1912.

A typical abbreviation for Lake Wales: Lk. Wales

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Lake Wales has a population of 16,766 people<2> (see below for details).

Lake Wales is 120 feet [37 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Lake Wales lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Lake Wales is located in the (863) area code.

The ZIP codes for Lake Wales: 33853, 33859<4>

Websites for Lake Wales ...

Official Website:   www.cityoflakewales.com/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.lakewaleschamber.com/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Lake Wales had an population of 16,766 people. This is an increase of 17.86% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 64.47% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Lake Wales had a population of 14,225 people. This makes Lake Wales the county's 5th most populous community.

The population of Lake Wales represents 0.08% of the population of Florida (which has 18,801,310 people), making it the state's 127th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 14,225 people, the population of Lake Wales increased 39.54% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 10,194 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Lake Wales.

Communities near Lake Wales ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Lake Wales.

• Winter Haven
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Haven
  • Winter Haven is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 46,578 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winter Haven <5>
• Haines City
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haines City
  • Haines City is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,674 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haines City <5>
• Bartow
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartow
  • Bartow is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,201 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bartow <5>
• Auburndale
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
  • Auburndale is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,204 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Auburndale <5>
• Davenport
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
  • Davenport is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,301 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davenport <5>
• Lake Alfred
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Alfred
  • Lake Alfred is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,331 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Alfred <5>
• Fort Meade
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Meade
  • Fort Meade is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,260 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Meade <5>
• Dundee
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
  • Dundee is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,200 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundee <5>
• Frostproof
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frostproof
  • Frostproof is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,273 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frostproof <5>
• Eagle Lake
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
  • Eagle Lake is located in Polk County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,105 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Lake <5>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Lake Wales. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lake Wales.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lake Wales. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Wales.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Wales. Our list includes 9 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Lake Wales.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lake Wales ...

Looking for more information about Lake Wales? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Lake Wales, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Lake Wales.

Adding Lake Wales to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Lake Wales in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Lake Wales was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Lake Wales post office opened in 1912.

We also found Lake Wales on a map titled Shell Oil Road Map for Florida (1956).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Lake Wales.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Lake Wales: www.cityoflakewales.com/

The official website for Polk County: www.polk-county.net/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/