Osceola County, FL

County Profile

427,415 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Osceola County, FL.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 13% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity844th of 1,463 counties measured51
Schools1,334th of 1,377 counties measured8
GrowthTop 24% of 1,453 counties measured64
Housing affordability1,399th of 1,462 counties measured45
ClimateTop 6% of 1,463 counties measured80
Physical resilience1,340th of 1,463 counties measured21
AccessTop 31% of 1,463 counties measured88
Economic stabilityTop 43% of 1,463 counties measured65
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.9% and median household income $72,637, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 5,718 units authorized over the past twelve months, 31% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
427,415
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,637
Top 31% nationally
Density
322/sq mi
1,327.5 sq mi of land
Median age
37.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Osceola County
Florida
Nearest major airport
MCO
28 mi · Orlando Intl
Median home value
$353,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.9% — higher than in all but 24% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 0.5% over the past year, to 228,467 employed residents.

30% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$59,98954th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$52,65832nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,8762024 ACS 5-Year$72,637Top 31%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4992024 ACS 5-Year$32,676Bottom 38%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$47,135Bottom 13%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%Bottom 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year37.6 minBottom 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year29.8%Top 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.8%16th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026228,467Top 11%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.7%Top 41%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 49%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026240,32789th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year80.3%Top 26%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%90th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Bottom 11%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.9%Bottom 24%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%81st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.02.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.9% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,637 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons49,970$32,290
Waiters and Waitresses36,820$35,410
Customer Service Representatives35,690$40,530
Fast Food and Counter Workers34,830$28,620
Registered Nurses30,150$83,550
Cashiers29,340$31,330

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.9 students for every full-time teacher across 71 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
80
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.9
across 71 of them
Math proficiency
47.5%
Bottom 5% in Florida
Reading proficiency
49.7%
Bottom 13% in Florida
The 12 largest of 80 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Tohopekaliga High SchoolOSCEOLA2,92922.026%45%
Celebration High SchoolOSCEOLA2,68123.742%53%
Harmony High SchoolOSCEOLA2,67321.746%54%
St. Cloud High SchoolOSCEOLA2,59623.049%49%
Poinciana High SchoolOSCEOLA2,57321.827%39%
Osceola High SchoolOSCEOLA2,34520.830%34%
Gateway High SchoolOSCEOLA1,88222.433%48%
Celebration K-8OSCEOLA1,49816.684%76%
Westside K-8 SchoolOSCEOLA1,49618.743%41%
Renaissance Charter School at Tapestry · charterOSCEOLA1,41918.439%45%
Four Corners Upper School · charterOSCEOLA1,40121.936%47%
Liberty High SchoolOSCEOLA1,36220.620%38%

52.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 101.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area is up 45% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,700 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.76% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,972, some 13% above the $1,746 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,972 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $78,900 a year, about 109% of the median household income here of $72,637.

The typical renter household here spends 38% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,746 a month.

A median home at $353,300 costs 4.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $84,869, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
101.6

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
37.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,972
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,746
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$353,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Osceola County’s median household income of $72,637, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area’s figure2023101.6Bottom 22%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%9th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+45.4%53rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+120.6%90th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year4.2Bottom 10%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year65.3%16th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1202024 ACS 5-Year171,41094th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,731Bottom 6%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,476Bottom 8%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,972Bottom 7%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$1,746Bottom 4%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,4102024 ACS 5-Year$353,30088th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$2,70081st percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,3872024 ACS 5-Year$84,869Top 33%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.76%47th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year37.9%Bottom 2%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1,3822024 ACS 5-Year19,14899th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%83rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%21st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,6272024 ACS 5-Year28,61698th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

64/ 100
Top 24% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 20% since 2020, reaching 468,058 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 7,366 units authorized in 2025, 16% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Osceola County gained about 1.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $59,989, above the $52,658 of households that moved out.

At 13.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
5,718
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
13.4
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
−31%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
34.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024468k391k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
36%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,989
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,658
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Orange County, FL 13,131 people · 34% of arrivals
  2. Polk County, FL 3,701 people · 9.5% of arrivals
  3. Miami-Dade County, FL 1,421 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  4. Broward County, FL 1,071 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  5. Seminole County, FL 878 people · 2.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Orange County, FL 9,317 people · 27% of departures
  2. Polk County, FL 6,746 people · 20% of departures
  3. Lake County, FL 1,572 people · 4.6% of departures
  4. Seminole County, FL 955 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Brevard County, FL 718 people · 2.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202510k6k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+26%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 50°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ORLANDO INTL AP, 28.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND8.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals51.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

21 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 44% of it.

Strong windHigh
LightningModerate
WildfireModerate
HurricaneElevated
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, landslide, earthquake, drought, hail, winter weather, ice storm, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Osceola County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 6.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.6 per 100,000 residents in Osceola County.

Homicide
2.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
12.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Osceola County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Orlando Intl at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year92.6%Top 10%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miTop 38%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle7Top 5%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%Top 8%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Orlando IntlMCO28 mi10,000 ft
Melbourne Orlando IntlMLB30 mi10,181 ft
Orlando Sanford IntlSFB50 mi11,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
48
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.