Greater Orlando
The Orlando metropolitan area is an inland metropolitan area in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. Its principal cities are Orlando, Kissimmee, and Sanford. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines it as consisting of the counties of Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole.
According to the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Greater Orlando is 2,673,376, an increase of nearly 540,000 new residents between 2010 and 2020.
By population, it is the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida, the seventh-largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 22nd-largest in the United States. The MSA encompasses of total area.
Definitions
The Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford MSA is further listed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as part of the Orlando–Lakeland–Deltona, Florida combined statistical area. This includes the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, Lakeland-Winter Haven, and Wildwood-The Villages MSAs. As of the 2010 census, the Combined Statistical Area population was 3,447,946, with a 2018 estimate at 4,096,575.The MSA was first defined in 1950 as the Orlando standard metropolitan area, consisting solely of Orange County. Seminole County was added to the MSA in 1959, Osceola County in 1973, and Lake County in 1992. The name was changed to Orlando–Kissimmee MSA in 2004, and to Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford MSA in 2009.
Climate and geography
Climate
Like much of the Southern United States, according to the Köppen climate classification, Orlando has a humid subtropical climate. The two basic seasons in the Orlando area are a hot and rainy season from May until late October, and a warm and dry season from November through April. The area's relatively low elevation and close proximity to the Tropic of Cancer are what accentuate the humidity during the summer months, when temperatures typically reach as high as the low 90s °F, while daily high temperatures below the low 70s °F are pretty rare. The average window for temperatures is April 9 to October 14. The area's humidity acts as a buffer, usually preventing actual temperatures from exceeding but also pushing the heat index to over. The city's highest recorded temperature is, set on September 8, 1921. Strong afternoon thunderstorms are common daily during these months, caused by the air mass from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean colliding over the region. These storms can be quite powerful, bringing heavy torrential downpours, powerful winds, and even damaging hail.Humidity cools off during the winter months, resulting in more comfortable temperatures. The monthly daily average temperature in January is. Temperatures dip below the freezing mark on an average of only 1.6 nights per year and the lowest recorded temperature is, set on December 28, 1894. The annual mean minimum is just above putting Orlando in hardiness zone 10a. There have been some instances of snow accumulation over the years, such as in January 1977, along with flurries that were observed in 1989, 2006, and in 2010.
The average annual rainfall in Orlando is, a majority of which occurs in the period from June to September. October through May are Orlando's dry season. During this period, often a wildfire hazard exists. During some years, fires have been severe. In 1998, a strong El Niño caused an unusually wet January and February, followed by drought throughout the spring and early summer, causing a record wildfire season that created numerous air-quality alerts in Orlando and severely affected normal daily life, including the postponement of that year's Pepsi 400 NASCAR race in nearby Daytona Beach.
Like much of Florida, while hurricanes are a risk, the Orlando metro region's inland location gives the region more protection from storms, than compared to southern and coastal regions of the state. The city is located inland from the Atlantic and inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Despite its location, the city does see strong hurricanes, as was seen in the 2004 hurricane season, when the Orlando metro region was hit by three hurricanes that year.
Component counties, subregions, and cities
Largest cities
The following is a list of the fifteen largest cities in the Orlando metropolitan area as ranked by population.| City | County | 2010 population | 2020 population | 2010 to 2020 % change |
| Orlando | Orange | - | - | |
| Deltona | Volusia | - | - | |
| Kissimmee | Osceola | - | - | |
| Poinciana | Osceola and Polk | - | - | |
| Pine Hills | Orange | - | - | |
| Sanford | Seminole | - | - | |
| Saint Cloud | Osceola | - | - | |
| Horizon West | Orange | - | - | |
| Four Corners | Lake, Polk, Osceola, Orange | - | - | |
| Apopka | Orange | - | - | |
| Ocoee | Orange | - | - | |
| Winter Garden | Orange | - | - | |
| Ormond Beach | Volusia | - | - | |
| Winter Springs | Seminole | - | - | |
| DeLand | Volusia | - | - |
Principal cities
are defined by the OMB based on population size and employment. In general, a principal city has more non-residents commuting into the city to work than residents commuting out of the city to work.- Orlando, pop. 307,573
- Kissimmee, pop. 79,226
- Sanford, ''pop. 53,570''
Suburbs with more than 10,000 inhabitants
- Alafaya
- Altamonte Springs
- Apopka
- Azalea Park
- Buenaventura Lakes
- Casselberry
- Clermont
- Celebration
- Conway
- Daytona Beach
- DeBary
- Doctor Phillips
- Eustis
- Fairview Shores
- Forest City
- Goldenrod
- Hunter's Creek
- Lake Butler
- Lake Mary
- Lockhart
- Longwood
- Maitland
- Meadow Woods
- Mount Dora
- Oak Ridge
- Oviedo
- Pine Castle
- Southchase
- Tavares
- University
- Wekiva Springs
- Winter Park
Suburbs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
- Bay Lake
- Bay Hill
- Bithlo
- Belle Isle
- Campbell
- Chuluota
- Eatonville
- Edgewood
- Ferndale
- Fern Park
- Geneva
- Gotha
- Groveland
- Heathrow
- Holden Heights
- Lake Buena Vista
- Lake Hart
- Midway
- Minneola
- Montverde
- Mount Plymouth
- Oakland
- Okahumpka
- Orlo Vista
- Paradise Heights
- Sky Lake
- Sorrento
- South Apopka
- Taft
- Tangelo Park
- Tangerine
- Tildenville
- Union Park
- Vineland
- Wedgefield
- Williamsburg
- Windermere
- Zellwood
| County | 2021 Estimate | 2020 Census | Change | Area | Density |
| Orange County | - | - | |||
| Seminole County | - | - | |||
| Osceola County | - | - | |||
| Lake County | - | - | |||
| Total | - | - |
Demographics
| Historical racial composition | 2020 | 2010 | 2000 |
| White | 43.4% | 53.3% | 65.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 32.0% | 25.2% | 16.5% |
| Black or African American | 14.5% | 14.9% | 13.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 4.5% | 3.9% | 2.6% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Other Race | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 4.2% | 2.0% | 1.8% |
| Population | 2,673,376 | 2,134,411 | 1,644,561 |
Politics
The Orlando metropolitan area is historically a Republican stronghold but began shifting toward the Democratic Party at the turn of the 21st century, driven by increasing demographic diversity. However, following the 2016 election, the region has shown a trend toward the Republican Party, largely due to growing support among Hispanic voters, particularly Puerto Ricans, under Donald Trump. In the 2024 election, Trump came within one percentage point of winning the metro area, the closest margin since 2004.| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third parties |
| 2024 | 49.8% 629,911 | 48.6% 614,859 | 1.6% 19,757 |
| 2020 | 54.7% 708,343 | 44.0% 569,977 | 1.3% 16,466 |
| 2016 | 53.5% 584,102 | 41.9% 457,147 | 2.86% 71,300 |
| 2012 | 53.9% 498,366 | 46.1% 426,064 | 0.0% 0 |
Economy
Greater Orlando is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world thanks to the many theme parks in the area. Famous attractions include Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Orlando. Millions of tourists visit these and other attractions every year.In 2015, the Orlando area attracted 68 million people.
The citrus industry historically dominated the Orlando area economy but has declined over the past 100 years. The Christmas 1989 impact freeze proved particularly damaging to commercial citrus farming within Greater Orlando. There are still three major orange juice plants remaining in the area: Cutrale Citrus Juices in Leesburg; Florida's Natural Growers in Umatilla; and Silver Springs Citrus in Howey-in-the-Hills. Minute Maid maintains a major juice flavoring plant in Apopka.
Other agricultural pursuits, particularly cattle farming, remain important parts of the Central Florida economy but are now all located on the outer fringes of the metro area. Orlando is also a major food processing center.
Metro Orlando has served as a major military defense and aerospace center since World War II. The most prominent defense contractor in the area is Lockheed Martin, which operates both a laboratory and a manufacturing facility in Orlando. Military presence began in the 1940s, with the opening of McCoy Air Force Base and the Orlando Naval Training Center.
McCoy AFB was a major hub of B-52 Stratofortress operations. McCoy AFB was split between the city and NTC Orlando in 1974, and NTC Orlando closed in the mid-1990s. McCoy AFB is now the location of the Orlando International Airport. Farther north in Sanford, the Orlando Sanford International Airport was originally Naval Air Station Sanford.
Metro Orlando's economy has greatly diversified from tourism, and the area is now considered a primary city for the modeling, simulation, and training industry. The University of Central Florida is home to more than 60,000 students, the second largest public university campus by enrollment, and the university established the UCF College of Medicine in 2006. The Central Florida Research Park is the seventh largest research park in the United States by number of employees and fourth largest by number of companies. In addition to a Lockheed Martin branch, it also hosts other major hi-tech companies, such as Oracle Corporation, Electronic Arts, and Siemens.
Orlando is targeting the biotechnology and life sciences industries, with major new projects clustering in the Lake Nona Medical City. In addition to the UCF College of Medicine, a VA Hospital, a Sanford-Burnham Institute research center and a Nemours Foundation children's hospital are being constructed.