States · Florida · Polk County

River Ranch, Florida.

. Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro.

What it costs per month · River Ranch $1,970/mo

to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,050 (+114%) since Jan 2020.

Monthly payment to buy the typical home

Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.

$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Florida $1,970 United States $1,922
$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 2002 2010 2018 2026
  • Florida$1,970
  • United States$1,922

Living in River Ranch, Polk County, Florida

The Census does not count River Ranch on its own, so the figures here are Polk County's. Half the county's households earn more than $65,978 a year and half less; 14% of the county's people live below the poverty line. 70% of the county's homes are lived in by their owners and 30% are rented. Unemployment in Polk County was 5.6% in August 2026, and the county had 1.7% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Polk County work in schools and health care, then shops.

People 791,000 about, in Polk County: the Census does not count River Ranch on its own
Household income $65,978 the median in Polk County, give or take $1,143
Unemployment 5.6% Polk County, August 2026; 5.3% a year before
Homes 70% lived in by their owners; 30% rented

Written by AI Claude Haiku 5.5 wrote this on 22 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.

What it’s like

The place. River Ranch is a town in Polk County, Florida, where many of the figures on this page are county-wide, since the Census does not count the town on its own. Most homes across Barnstable County are lived in by their owners, and in Polk County the same is true for most homes. Residents are spread across the middle years of adult life, and a sizable share of households live below the poverty line.

Work. Schools, hospitals and social care, shops, restaurants, hotels and entertainment, and professional and business services employ many of the county's residents. Unemployment in Polk County has edged up over the past year, while the number of jobs has grown. A minority of adults hold a four-year degree, and fewer people work from home than go to a workplace each day.

Things to do. St. Johns River is a river a longer drive away, and Sebring International Raceway is a race track also a longer drive away. Lake Kissimmee, a lake a short drive away, is the closest of the listed places. Winters are milder than much of the country, while summers are hot and the year is wet, with heavy rain and melted snow.

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  • 289,425households
  • 39.5median age
  • 24%of adults have a degree
  • 14%below the poverty line
  • 30 mintypical commute
  • 12%work from home

What people in Polk County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care19%
  • Shops (retail)14%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment14%
  • Professional and business services11%
  • Building trades8%
  • Transport, warehouses and utilities8%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Polk County had 264,981 jobs in 2025, 1.7% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 72° and 49°; warmest in August, 91° and 73° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° J 72° 49° F M A M J J A 91° 73° S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 72° and 49°; warmest in August, 91° and 73° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° J 72° 49° F M A M J J A 91° 73° S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 72° and lows near 49°; warmest in August, with highs near 91° and lows near 73°. About 55 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Kenansville weather station, 11 miles away (NOAA).

Largest employers in Polk County

  1. Publix Super Markets16,537
  2. Polk County School Board13,500
  3. Lakeland Regional Health8,279
  4. Walmart5,523
  5. Amazon5,500
  6. Polk County Government5,262
  7. Baycare3,402
  8. Geico2,941

From Polk County’s annual financial report for 2025, its schedule of principal employers (its source: “Central Florida Development Council; Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics Center”), as Florida’s Auditor General publishes it: the report. Employees as the report counts them.

Natural hazards

  1. Strong windVery high
  2. LightningVery high
  3. HurricanesVery high
  4. Inland floodingRelatively high
  5. TornadoesRelatively high
  6. WildfireRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms across Polk County, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Polk County and the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro.

River Ranch home values

Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

Not enough data to draw this yet.

Market heat, inside the city limits

Homes for sale

Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.

4 5 6 7 2026 River Ranch 6
4 5 6 7 2026
  • River Ranch6

Zip codes with a River Ranch address

A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls River Ranch — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.

Zillow publishes no zip-level series with this city on the address.