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Place dossier plate
SheetGA-LAKELAND-GA · Lakeland, GA 2,943 pop · income 2nd pct · 3 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Lakeland
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lakeland on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Port Gibson · lowest
29,500
Port Gibson · lowest
29,500 median HH income
11.8% of the leader · rank #1
Smithville · near
29,507
Smithville · near
29,507 median HH income
11.8% of the leader · rank #2
Ramseur · near
29,508
Ramseur · near
29,508 median HH income
11.8% of the leader · rank #3
Randall · near
29,519
Randall · near
29,519 median HH income
11.8% of the leader · rank #4
Lakeland · this city
29,520
Lakeland · this city
29,520 median HH income
11.8% of the leader · rank #5
Brookville · highest
250,001
Brookville · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Lakeland on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,943.
Nationally, Lakeland sits in the 2nd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
2nd
percentile, household income
26th
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Lakeland, GA
Georgia's Lakeland is a small town, with 2,943 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Lakeland report a median income of $29,520 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 40.1%. Typical homes in Lakeland are valued around $145,900, and the median resident age is 37.9 years. About 10.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 45.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 0 residential units were authorized in 2024 (No Permits).
Living costs in Georgia run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Georgia at 96.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,203 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Georgia run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.5 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Lakeland's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lakeland, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Lakeland?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 40.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Lakeland?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Georgia, the closest population matches are Millen (2,959 residents, $36,918 income); Lake City (2,911 residents, $57,300 income); Bloomingdale (2,983 residents, $55,427 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Wilton, IA (2,943 residents); Huguley, AL (2,944 residents); Afton, MN (2,944 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What does the journey to work look like in Lakeland?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 47.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Lakeland?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 10.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
40.1%
Bachelor's degree+
10.8%
Matched public schools
4
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Is Lakeland growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +193 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +6.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
2,869
2025 estimate
3,062
Period change
+6.7%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 40.1% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average
F
City profile score · Lakeland, GA
16/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living C
96.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
10.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$29,520
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
40.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Lakeland profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 9/100 (F) · 10.8%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $29,520
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 40.1%
How does Lakeland compare to other US cities?
Where Lakeland sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income2% higher than other cities
Home value26% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Lakeland against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Georgia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Georgia-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Lakeland near the bottom of Georgia's cities
Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lakeland ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lakeland only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#572 of 610
6th percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#338 of 577
41st percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#29 of 637
95th percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#469 of 638
26th percentile in Georgia
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Georgia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
2nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Lakeland's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$145,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 74% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Lakeland's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,794 of 15,516
More affordable than 18% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,699 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.9×, Lakeland sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,794 of 15,516 and #9,699 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$29,520Lakeland, GA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lakeland, GA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Lakeland, GA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)10.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)40.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,943
Median Income
$29,520
Median Home Value
$145,900
Median Age
37.9
Poverty Rate
40.1%
Labor force participation
45.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
10.8%
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Lakeland's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,869 residents
2021
2,930 residents
2022
2,940 residents
2023
2,984 residents
2024
3,000 residents
2025
3,062 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
1
1
0
$0.1M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
47.3%
Carpool
4.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
21.4%
Work from Home
15.0%
Other
11.8%
Based on 1,007 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Georgia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Georgia at $225 (electricity about $125 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Georgia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Lakeland. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Georgia's BEA cost-of-living index is 96.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Lakeland is $1,203/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Georgia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.5 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Georgia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Lakeland sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lakeland compares to similar-size Georgia cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.