Lakeland Senior Advisor
What is Lakeland Senior Advisor?
Lakeland Senior Advisor is a free senior care referral and advisory service for families in Polk County, Florida, the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area, from Lakeland and Auburndale east to Haines City and Davenport and south through Bartow and Lake Wales to Fort Meade and Frostproof.
We publish what Florida's regulators require, what published cost data shows and every licensed facility on the state's own records, and then a local advisor helps you narrow the field. Facilities pay us a referral fee when a family moves in, which is why our help costs you nothing; we would rather you hear that from us first.
How much licensed senior care does Polk County have?
Polk County had about 174,801 residents aged 65 and older on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, and Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration licenses 43 assisted living facilities and 25 nursing homes in the county, while the Office of Insurance Regulation lists 2 life plan communities, both in Lakeland.
| City | Licensed ALFs | ALF beds | Nursing homes | Home health / hospice offices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland | 18 | 1369 | 12 | 28 |
| Winter Haven | 13 | 797 | 7 | 15 |
| Bartow | 1 | 36 | 1 | 1 |
| Haines City | 3 | 197 | 1 | 3 |
| Lake Wales | 3 | 118 | 2 | 3 |
| Davenport & ChampionsGate | 2 | 285 | 1 | 1 |
| Poinciana | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Auburndale | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lake Alfred | 2 | 150 | 0 | 0 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 county population estimates by age (July 1, 2025). Licenses: AHCA, retrieved November 6, 2026.
How is Polk County's older population changing?
It is growing fast: the county's 65-and-older population rose from 148,445 in April 2020 to 174,801 in July 2025, up 26,356 or 18%, while total population grew 21% to 874,790, one of the fastest rates of any large county in the country.
Polk is younger than Florida overall (20.0% of residents are 65 or older, against 22.8% statewide, with a median age of 39.5), but 18,317 residents were 85 or older. Much of the new growth is in the northeast, around Haines City, Davenport and Poinciana, where licensed senior care is thinnest.
How does Florida license assisted living and memory care?
AHCA licenses ALFs under Chapter 429, Part I, with a standard license and optional extended congregate care, limited nursing services and limited mental health add-ons; the memory care services license created in 2026 starts once AHCA adopts rules, due by June 1, 2027.
See Florida's license categories and the new memory care license.
What does senior care cost in Florida?
CareScout's 2025 Florida medians are about $5,500 a month for assisted living, $10,342 for a semi-private nursing home room and about $32 an hour for home care; nobody publishes a Polk County figure or a memory care figure.
Florida Medicaid can pay for assisted living services but not rent and meals; see costs and paying for care.
Where should a Polk County family begin?
Begin with what just happened rather than a care type: a discharge from Lakeland Regional or Winter Haven Hospital, a fall, a dementia diagnosis, a worn-out spouse or savings running low each lead to different first steps.
What we are, and what we are not
| Lakeland Senior Advisor is | Lakeland Senior Advisor is not | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to you | Free; facilities pay a referral fee | Billed to families now or later |
| Data | AHCA, CMS and OIR records | Aggregator listings or paid placement |
| Ratings | CMS nursing home stars, labelled as CMS's | Scores or rankings we made up |
| Affiliation | An independent referral service | A government office or the Area Agency on Aging |
