Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located just outside of Tampa. According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 100,710. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 623,009 in July 2013 based on data from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research.