ICYMI, the City of Lakeland recently released its 2024 Demographic Guide, a document packed full of information on the makeup of our community. We combed through the hundreds of data points inside to bring you the most important facts to pay attention to. Let's just say we saved you a few hours of reading time.

Since 1970, Lakeland's population has grown roughly ~204% and has expanded from under 20 sq miles to more than 75 sq miles. | Graph via City of Lakeland

Major takeaways

When it comes to Lakeland's demographic guide (which looks at data from the year prior to when it was published), the main thing to note is that Lakeland is growing — both economically and in population. Here are five key figures that demonstrate this:

121,968 — Lakeland's 2023 total population, which has grown by 23,195 since 2013
12.1% — The city's growth rate from 2020-2023, making it the country's fastest-growing metro area
42.5% — The projected 10-year job growth for the city
52,730 — The number of people considered a part of Lakeland's annual labor force in 2023
3.6% — Lakeland's total unemployment rate for 2023, only slightly higher than in 2022, which had the city's lowest unemployment rate in 12+ years

Downtown West Gateway | Conceptual renderings provided by The Lunz Group and The Apiary

What this means for us

These statistics are important because city leaders can use them to make informed and strategic decisions for how to best serve and advance their communities — think, projects like the Downtown West Action Plan and the Munn Park revitalization. Lakeland's growth also lends itself to more businesses coming to the area, from food + drink spots to medical centers to real estate.

Want to dive deeper into some of the topics discussed in the demographic guide? Check out our City + New to Lakeland resources for more on Lakeland developments.