Living in Orlando, FL

Orange County

Orlando's economy is dominated by tourism to a degree no other city in this batch matches: Walt Disney World alone employs roughly 80,000 cast members -- Florida's largest single-site employer -- and Universal Orlando adds another 25,000-plus, with roughly one in three regional jobs tied to travel and tourism in some form. That has a real, underappreciated consequence for hurricane risk: Orlando is inland, so it doesn't carry the storm-surge exposure that Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or St. Petersburg face directly on the coast, but inland is not the same as hurricane-safe -- Central Florida still sits inside the same six-month hurricane season and takes wind damage and serious freshwater/flash-flood risk from storms that have already made landfall elsewhere in the state. Housing sits in the low-to-mid $400s, with sources disagreeing on whether the market is still appreciating or has begun to soften.

Explore Orlando in depth

Thinking about moving to Orlando?

We can connect you with a local real estate professional who knows the area -- no pressure, just a starting point.

Learn more

Housing

Median sale price (Orlando city)$405,000

Up 4.8% YoY at that snapshot. A March 2026 figure cited $395K and a June 2026 Zillow average-home-value figure cited $376,216 (down 2.8% YoY) -- sources broadly agree on a $375K-$405K range through 2026 rather than a single precise figure, and the direction of travel (softening) differs from the YoY-up figure this record leads with, which is itself worth disclosing.

Median sale price (Orange County)Not yet verified

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate1.17%

Not independently sourced at the Orange County level this session. Florida carries no income tax statewide. See the Florida hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Orlando-specific.

Want to know what your budget buys in Orlando?

Tell us a bit about what you're looking for and we'll connect you with someone local who can walk you through real numbers.

Get local guidance

The tradeoffs

Pros

Deep, if narrowly tourism-concentrated, job base anchored by Disney and Universal; genuine lake access and green space within the metro despite the theme-park reputation; Orlando International Airport (MCO) gives strong domestic and growing international connectivity; more moderate housing prices than the coastal cities in this batch.

Cons

Job market is heavily tied to tourism and discretionary travel spending, a real concentration risk relative to Jacksonville's or Miami's more diversified economies; car-dependent sprawl rather than a walkable core; inland location changes but does not eliminate hurricane exposure -- wind and flash-flood risk are real even without storm surge; housing-price sources disagree on direction (up 4.8% YoY per one Redfin snapshot, down per a later Zillow reading).

Who this fits

Best for: Young professionals in or adjacent to the hospitality/tourism/entertainment industry, and anyone prioritizing lake and outdoor access without paying a direct-coastal premium.

Maybe not for you if: Anyone who wants a diversified, non-tourism-dependent local job market, or who specifically wants direct beach/coastal living, should look at Jacksonville or Fort Lauderdale in this batch instead.

Planning a move to Orlando?

Tell us what you're looking for and we'll connect you with a local expert who can help you make it happen.

Talk to a local expert

Last reviewed: 2026-08-21. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.