Living in Fort Meade, Florida: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.9% below the U.S. average in the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Fort Meade itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byBartow Regional Medical Center in Bartow, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTampa is about 44 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Fort Meade meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $175,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 9.9%Polk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $922 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $36,657U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,233 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940: 12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 8%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 97.1U.S. average = 100 (the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area, not Fort Meade alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 5,3792020: 5,083
Median age: 44.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 9%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (19%); construction (16%); retail (10%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 40 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 22%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bartow Regional Medical Center, Bartow, FL, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Fort Meade, run by Polk.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 47%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 72%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 50°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 121 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 2 a year
Rain and melted snow: 50.9 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 145 feet

Weather station: Bartow 1SE (8 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Bartow Regional Medical CenterEmergency room8

Winter Haven, FLCity of 62,00020

Tampa, FLMetro of 3.4 million44

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bartow Regional Medical Center, Winter Haven, Tampa.

Polk County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fort Meade Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

De Soto National Memorial54 miles

Read about Fort Meade's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fort Meade?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Bartow, FL24,000 people, 8 miles
Bowling Green, FL2,400 people, 9 miles
Alturas, FL4,600 people, 9 miles
Crooked Lake Park, FL2,600 people, 14 miles
Wahneta, FL3,900 people, 14 miles
Highland City, FL13,300 people, 14 miles

Smaller places

Homeland, FL (unincorporated)363 people, 4 miles
Bradley Junction, FL (unincorporated)631 people, 11 miles
Fort Green Springs, FL (unincorporated)762 people, 15 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.