What is the crime rate in Lake Wales, FL?

In 2025, the Lake Wales Police Department reported 58 violent crimes and 216 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 319 violent and 1,187 property crimes per 100,000 of the 18,200 residents it serves.

Across Florida the rates were 248 and 1,074.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 319
Property per 100,000: 1,187
Violent crimes: 58
Property crimes: 216

Crime reported by the Lake Wales Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	68	403	398	2,358	16,878
2024	41	244	257	1,529	16,813
2025	58	319	216	1,187	18,200

Violent crimes reported went from 68 in 2023 to 58 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 398 in 2023 to 216 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

Lake Wales against Florida and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Lake Wales	319	1,187
Polk County	217	777
Florida	248	1,074
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near Lake Wales, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Lake Wales	—	319	1,187
Lake Hamilton	9.0 mi	346	1,341
Winter Haven	12 mi	268	1,475
Haines City	13 mi	84	551
Bartow	14 mi	351	1,019
Lake Alfred	17 mi	76	971
Davenport	17 mi	99	286
Auburndale	18 mi	145	1,641

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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