While big cities like Orlando offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Orlando. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Orlando without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Orlando are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Orlando area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Orlando for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Orlando? Windermere ranks as the best suburb of Orlando for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Windermere, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Orlando ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Florida:
The 10 Best Orlando Suburbs To Live For 2024
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Windermere is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Orlando area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Windermere.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $143,988 a year, which is the highest in the Orlando region. And only 2.14% are out of work. Homes average more than $692,344 each.
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Population: 7,020
Median Income: $111,836
Unemployment Rate: 1.2%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Belle Isle: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Belle Isle is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Orlando for 2024.
It ranks 4th for incomes in the area and only 10.03% of residents lack insurance, good for 10th best.
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Population: 39,552
Median Income: $116,764
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Oviedo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Oviedo, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Orlando metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Oviedo.
Oviedo is a quiet suburban that is very close to UCF, which is one of the best universities in the States. Crime rate is about below average than most cities, you would feel safe walking your dogs at night without any worries. There are plenty of shops in Oviedo now that they keep expanding the area. Starbucks, Panera Bread, Chick-Fil-A, Arby’s, and lots of different stores. It’s a nice area to raise a family and to live in.
There are dog parks, trails, and rivers that will suit your needs. Tons of different restaurants for you to pick. People are usually friendly and make great neighbors. Only downside is that Oviedo has been pretty populated the past few years, ever since everybody wanted to move to here, so traffic is pretty bad most of the times, even in the middle of the afternoon.
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Population: 29,985
Median Income: $96,563
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.6%
More on Winter Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Winter Park ranks as the 4th best suburb of Orlando for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Winter Park and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 16,636
Median Income: $106,971
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%
Poverty Rate: 2.3%
More on Lake Mary: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Lake Mary.
Lake Mary gets kudos for having the 7th most expensive homes in the Orlando area, where houses sell for an average of $466,468. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Oakland is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.78%.
According to online reports, Oakland is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Orlando area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 19,266
Median Income: $89,871
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 11.5%
More on Maitland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Maitland.
Maitland schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 15.3 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 38,205
Median Income: $83,732
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 8.3%
More on Winter Springs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Winter Springs is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 7.2% of people lack insurance, good for 7th in the area.
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Population: 43,266
Median Income: $75,951
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Clermont: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Clermont?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
Rolling hills is not something you think about when it comes to Florida, yet there are hills a plenty in the picturesque town of Clermont. Home to the National Training Center where Olympians train, this little town has grown leaps and bounds over the past decade, tripling its population. Great place to work, live, and visit. Lots of small shops and restaurants in downtown.
Orange field tours, Citrus tower, downtown Clermont, bike paths
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Population: 14,406
Median Income: $91,435
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Minneola: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Minneola.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Orlando for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Orlando was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Orlando.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 23 suburbs to evaluate around Orlando.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 23 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Orlando.” We’re lookin’ at you, Windermere.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Orlando suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Orlando ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Orlando are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Orlando but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Florida reading, check out:
Table: Best Orlando Suburbs
Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Windermere, FL | 3,043 | $143,988 | $692,344 |
2 | Belle Isle, FL | 7,020 | $111,836 | $513,455 |
3 | Oviedo, FL | 39,552 | $116,764 | $497,890 |
4 | Winter Park, FL | 29,985 | $96,563 | $449,047 |
5 | Lake Mary, FL | 16,636 | $106,971 | $466,468 |
6 | Oakland, FL | 3,488 | $131,645 | $544,505 |
7 | Maitland, FL | 19,266 | $89,871 | $459,687 |
8 | Winter Springs, FL | 38,205 | $83,732 | $427,030 |
9 | Clermont, FL | 43,266 | $75,951 | $424,952 |
10 | Minneola, FL | 14,406 | $91,435 | $468,876 |
11 | Winter Garden, FL | 46,518 | $101,953 | $572,785 |
12 | Edgewood, FL | 2,689 | $81,184 | $458,866 |
13 | Longwood, FL | 15,628 | $75,197 | $450,211 |
14 | Apopka, FL | 55,056 | $87,394 | $392,939 |
15 | Casselberry, FL | 29,092 | $56,833 | $349,775 |
16 | St. Cloud, FL | 59,851 | $69,366 | $406,123 |
17 | Ocoee, FL | 47,290 | $88,828 | $417,918 |
18 | Altamonte Springs, FL | 45,772 | $61,714 | $299,187 |
19 | Sanford, FL | 61,272 | $59,181 | $344,862 |
20 | Midway, FL | 3,500 | $58,393 | $252,104 |
21 | Kissimmee, FL | 78,478 | $45,319 | $367,593 |
22 | Davenport, FL | 10,246 | $64,428 | $365,508 |
23 | Eatonville, FL | 2,486 | $29,667 | $232,751 |