More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Orlando to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Orlando are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Orlando ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Orlando area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Orlando proper, although Windermere certainly tries.
We examined the 24 biggest suburbs of Orlando to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Florida lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Orlando in terms of quality of life.
$32,768 median income · $251,251 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Eatonville, the absolute worst place to live around Orlando according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Eatonville beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Orlando area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Eatonville.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
$63,381 median income · $248,338 median home price
Welcome to Midway. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 26.5 miles to Orlando. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $63,381 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Movers
$53,758 median income · $358,736 median home price
Located in
Osceola County, Florida
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Orlando suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Kissimmee on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Orlando suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$73,685 median income · $341,898 median home price
If you live in Davenport, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 7th lowest Orlando suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 19th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Orlando. Remember, we looked at 24 cities for this study.
Davenport is about 25.8 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,070 median income · $294,423 median home price
Located in
Seminole County, Florida
Altamonte Springs has the distinction of being a Orlando suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Altamonte Springs has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro Orlando area, where the median price is $294,423. The median income is $177,778.
Altamonte Springs has an unemployment rate of 5.1% which ranks 9th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$66,891 median income · $342,584 median home price
Located in
Seminole County, Florida
Sanford has 63,730 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 11.9%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,174 median income · $394,011 median home price
Located in
Osceola County, Florida
Ah, St. Cloud. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Orlando.
It’s the place with the 5th most out of work residents in the Orlando metro area (5.9%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$98,911 median income · $414,464 median home price
Located in
Orange County, Florida
Ocoee is a city about 18.2 miles from Orlando, but Orlando probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Ocoee has the 4th most uninsured people, 16th worst incomes, and has the 11th highest unemployment rate (4.5%) in the entire Orlando metro area.
Homes only cost $414,464 for a reason. That’s cheap for Orlando standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$96,884 median income · $394,963 median home price
Located in
Orange County, Florida
If you absolutely have to live near Orlando, then Apopka might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Orlando suburb.
About 3.8% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$62,447 median income · $346,839 median home price
Located in
Seminole County, Florida
Rounding out the ten worst Orlando suburbs to call home is Casselberry.
Located 17.0 miles outside the city, Casselberry is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 17th highest unemployment rate (3.1%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Florida’s statewide median.
Florida statewide median: $74,568
Florida statewide median: $375,662
Florida statewide median: 4.8%
Florida statewide median: 12.6%
On the map
Where the worst Orlando suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Orlando for 2026
To figure out how bad a Orlando suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Orlando.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 24 suburbs to evaluate around Orlando.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 24 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Orlando.” We’re looking at you, Eatonville.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Orlando.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Orlando Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eatonville | 3.93 | 2,290 | $32,768 | $251,251 |
| 2 | Midway | 5.71 | 3,511 | $63,381 | $248,338 |
| 3 | Kissimmee | 5.86 | 81,479 | $53,758 | $358,736 |
| 4 | Davenport | 5.93 | 13,238 | $73,685 | $341,898 |
| 5 | Altamonte Springs | 8.21 | 46,116 | $64,070 | $294,423 |
| 6 | Sanford | 9.00 | 63,730 | $66,891 | $342,584 |
| 7 | St. Cloud | 10.14 | 65,130 | $83,174 | $394,011 |
| 8 | Ocoee | 10.21 | 49,033 | $98,911 | $414,464 |
| 9 | Apopka | 10.36 | 58,232 | $96,884 | $394,963 |
| 10 | Casselberry | 10.43 | 30,135 | $62,447 | $346,839 |
| 11 | Longwood | 10.57 | 16,337 | $78,548 | $455,599 |
| 12 | Minneola | 13.57 | 16,598 | $110,902 | $440,330 |
| 13 | Winter Garden | 13.71 | 47,872 | $106,495 | $567,352 |
| 14 | Clermont | 13.93 | 46,853 | $82,306 | $429,095 |
| 15 | Edgewood | 14.36 | 2,758 | $81,481 | $483,107 |
| 16 | Maitland | 15.00 | 19,469 | $97,150 | $480,711 |
| 17 | Winter Springs | 15.14 | 38,951 | $92,574 | $424,494 |
| 18 | Belle Isle | 15.43 | 7,444 | $104,559 | $533,137 |
| 19 | Oviedo | 16.93 | 40,599 | $117,070 | $506,154 |
| 20 | Montverde | 17.43 | 2,249 | $97,031 | $686,828 |
| 21 | Lake Mary | 17.50 | 16,860 | $109,173 | $466,032 |
| 22 | Winter Park | 17.64 | 30,274 | $105,724 | $464,211 |
| 23 | Oakland | 17.71 | 3,646 | $152,195 | $561,314 |
| 24 | Windermere | 21.29 | 3,086 | $177,778 | $705,137 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 24 suburbs within 30 miles of Orlando.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Orlando where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Orlando with Eatonville casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Orlando are Eatonville, Midway, Kissimmee, Davenport, Altamonte Springs, Sanford, St. Cloud, Ocoee, Apopka, and Casselberry.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Orlando aren’t all bad. Windermere takes the cake as the best place to live around Orlando. Not sold on Florida? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Orlando FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Orlando?
Eatonville ranks as the worst suburb around Orlando for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Midway and Kissimmee are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Orlando?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Orlando are Eatonville, Midway, Kissimmee, Davenport, Altamonte Springs, Sanford, St. Cloud, Ocoee, Apopka, and Casselberry. We scored all 24 places within 30 miles.
Why does Eatonville rank as the worst suburb?
Eatonville posts the roughest combined numbers of the 24 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $32,768, a median home value of $251,251, and a poverty rate of 28.2%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Orlando?
Windermere lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Orlando by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Orlando list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
