 The other core city of the metropolitan area, Winter Haven, is located in the eastern part of the county and has 34,000 residents.The county seat, Bartow, is located southeast of Lakeland and southwest of Winter Haven and has over 17,000 residents.The cities of Bartow, Lakeland, and Winter Haven form a roughly equilateral triangle pointed downward with Bartow being the south point, Lakeland the west point, and Winter Haven the east point.