Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 33,874 at the 2010 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2018 estimates, this city had a population of 43,020, making it the second most populated city in Polk County. It is a principal city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.