Lakeland vs Auburndale vs Plant City vs Winter Haven: taxes, schools

Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Sources: the Polk County Property Appraiser’s 2025 final millage rates (PDF), the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s 2025 final millage rates (PDF), the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades, Zillow Research, the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey and each city’s website.

Lakeland’s three nearest neighbors that are cities are Auburndale and Plant City, each about 10 miles from the middle of Lakeland, and Winter Haven, about 14 miles. Auburndale and Winter Haven are in Polk County with Lakeland. Plant City is across the line in Hillsborough County, which changes its county tax rate and its school district. This page sets the official figures side by side, one topic at a time, all from the same year for every city.

What this means for you

• City tax rate, 2025: Lakeland 5.4323 mills, Auburndale 4.2515, Plant City 5.7157, Winter Haven 6.59.
• Typical home value, August 2026: Lakeland $309,954, Auburndale $302,746, Plant City $340,391, Winter Haven $272,484 (Zillow).
• Check any one address with the county property appraiser before you count on a city’s services or tax rate (see the last section).

For Lakeland’s own neighborhoods, see our Lakeland neighborhoods guide.

Property tax rates

Florida property tax is set in mills: $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value. Each city sets its own operating rate; the county, the school board and the Southwest Florida Water Management District add theirs. These are the final rates for tax year 2025, the bills mailed in November 2025, from the Polk and Hillsborough property appraisers.

What the three Polk cities share: the Polk County general fund rate of 6.6348 mills, the School Board’s 5.2900 mills (2.2480 local and 3.0420 state) and the water management district’s 0.1831 mills.

Plant City’s county rates are Hillsborough’s: 5.5212 mills for the county, 6.3400 for the School Board, 0.4589 for the Children’s Board, 0.0737 for the Port Authority and 0.1831 for the water management district.

Special districts change the total. Lakeland parcels inside the Lakeland Area Mass Transit District pay 0.5 mill more, for 18.0402, and downtown parcels in the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority district pay 20.0402. Auburndale and Winter Haven parcels in the Lake Region Lakes Management District pay 0.3253 mill more, for 16.6847 and 19.0232. Lakeland’s City Commission kept its 5.4323 rate for the year that began Oct. 1, 2026; see our property taxes guide.

Homestead exemption. None of the four cities publishes a homestead exemption of its own. Florida’s homestead exemption is filed with the county property appraiser, Polk or Hillsborough; in Polk the deadline for first-time applications is March 1.

Chart: city tax rates

High schools and their state grades

Every school below is a traditional public high school with that city’s name in its address in the federal NCES directory. Grades are the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades, released July 1, 2026, the same year for all four cities. School zones do not follow city limits.

Polk County Public Schools kept a B district grade for 2026, the district said. Charter and collegiate high schools, such as McKeel Academy of Technology in Lakeland, are not in this table. Our schools guide lists every Lakeland school.

Home values

The Zillow Home Value Index for each city, August 2026, a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price:

Chart: typical home values

Values inside Lakeland vary by ZIP code; see our home prices guide.

People, income and commute

From the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the same vintage for all four cities (table; QuickFacts):

The Census home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, pooled over five years of surveys, so it is not comparable with Zillow’s monthly index.

City services

All four cities run their own police, fire and trash service inside city limits. An address outside a city’s limits, even with that city’s name in its mailing address, is served by the county.

In unincorporated Polk County, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office answers police calls and the county collects trash; Winter Haven’s solid waste page tells county customers to call Polk County Solid Waste and Recycling at 863-284-4319.

How to check an address

1. Find the city on the parcel. Look the address up with the Polk County Property Appraiser for Lakeland, Auburndale and Winter Haven, or the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser for Plant City. The parcel record shows the taxing district.
2. Find the zoned schools. Use Polk County Public Schools’ Address Zoning tool (863-519-7600, option 1), or check with Hillsborough County Public Schools for Plant City.
3. Estimate the tax bill. The Polk tax estimator and the Hillsborough tax estimator estimate the tax bill for a parcel.

Frequently asked questions

Which has lower property taxes, Lakeland or Winter Haven?

For tax year 2025, Lakeland’s own city rate was 5.4323 mills and Winter Haven’s 6.59 mills. With the county, school and water district rates they share, the totals were 17.5402 mills in Lakeland and 18.6979 in Winter Haven, before special district levies, the Polk County Property Appraiser’s table shows.

Is Plant City in Polk County?

No. Plant City is in Hillsborough County, so it has Hillsborough County’s tax rates and Hillsborough County Public Schools. Lakeland, Auburndale and Winter Haven are in Polk County.

What is the typical home value in Lakeland compared with nearby cities?

In August 2026 the Zillow Home Value Index was $309,954 for Lakeland, $302,746 for Auburndale, $340,391 for Plant City and $272,484 for Winter Haven. It is a modeled typical value, not a sale price.

How long is the commute in Lakeland?

Lakeland workers averaged 23.1 minutes to work in the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, against 33.3 in Auburndale, 28.2 in Plant City and 28.4 in Winter Haven.