States · Florida · Polk County

Willow Oak, Florida.

A community in Polk County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Polk County’s.

Living in Willow Oak, Polk County, Florida

Willow Oak, in Polk County, had 6,806 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $65,688 a year and half less, against $65,978 across Polk County; 25% of its people live below the poverty line. 50% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 50% 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 residents work in shops, then construction.

People 6,806 in the 2020 census; median age 29.1
Household income $65,688 the median, give or take $7,864 · Polk County: $65,978
Unemployment 5.6% Polk County, August 2026; 5.3% a year before
Homes 50% lived in by their owners; 50% rented
  • 2,275households
  • 13%of adults have a degree
  • 25%below the poverty line
  • 32 mintypical commute
  • 9%work from home

What residents work in

  • Shops (retail)19%
  • Building trades16%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment11%
  • Manufacturing10%
  • Professional and business services9%
  • Schools, hospitals and social care8%

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, 74° and 51°; warmest in August, 92° and 74° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° J 74° 51° F M A M J J A 92° 74° S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 74° and 51°; warmest in August, 92° and 74° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° J 74° 51° F M A M J J A 92° 74° S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 74° and lows near 51°; warmest in August, with highs near 92° and lows near 74°. About 57 inches of rain a year, and little or no snow.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Lakeland weather station, 5 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. LightningRelatively high
  2. Strong windRelatively high
  3. HurricanesRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Willow Oak’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, very low. 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.