Lake Wales is a medium-sized city located in the state of Florida. With a population of 17,798 people and 12 associated neighborhoods, Lake Wales is the 163rd largest community in Florida. Much of the housing stock in Lake Wales was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Lake Wales economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Lake Wales, where the median household income is $56,347.00.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 8.70% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

The education level of Lake Wales citizens, measured as those with bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees, is similar to the national average for all American cities and towns. 20.83% of adults 25 and older in Lake Wales have a college degree.

The per capita income in Lake Wales in 2022 was $28,384, which is lower middle income relative to Florida and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $113,536 for a family of four. However, Lake Wales contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Lake Wales is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Lake Wales home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Lake Wales residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Lake Wales also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 30.85% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Lake Wales include English, German, Irish, African, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Lake Wales is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.