How healthy is Polk County, and how can resident wellness improve? That's what Polk Vision set out to answer in its 2025 Polk County Community Health Assessment (CHA), which compiled survey results from more than 2,000 residents. We read through all 300+ pages — here's what stuck out to us.

1. Health rankings

When it comes to health outcomes like length and quality of life, Polk County's ranking is on par with state and national averages for individual counties (more on page 37).

However, it ranks below average for health factors, which include adult smoking and physical inactivity. Get some fresh air on a walk around one of Lakeland's parks.

2. Life expectancy

Despite being a hub for snowbirds + retirees, the life expectancy in Polk County is 76.2 years, compared to Florida's average of 78.6 (more on page 50). Spending your golden years here? Make the most of them.

3. Priorities

Based on the CHA results, representatives from local public health agencies ranked their top three priorities for local health: access to health services, behavioral health, and chronic disease (more on page 10).

The agencies chose these based not just on the severity of each issue, but also on how confident they are that Polk County can address them. Now, they'll use the data collected to inform the Community Health Improvement Plan. Scheduled to be released in January, this plan will guide community health partners' strategies from 2026 to 2030.

Dig into the rest of the data, or watch the playback from the 2025 State of the County meeting, where Community Health Project Coordinator Taylor Freeman of the Florida Department of Health explained more about the CHA.