Best PlacesSouth Orange, Orlando, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Orange, Orlando, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Orange, Orlando ranks 1,499th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Orange, Orlando
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South Orange, Orlando's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Orange, Orlando ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where South Orange, Orlando ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Orange, Orlando
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Orange, Orlando home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,506, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South Orange, Orlando's effective rate of 0.82%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Orange, Orlando
South Orange, Orlando's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Orange, Orlando.
Who works in South Orange, Orlando, and how
Work in South Orange, Orlando centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in South Orange, Orlando
South Orange, Orlando has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of South Orange, Orlando and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Orange, Orlando, month by month
South Orange, Orlando sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 50. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| April | 86° | 74° | 64° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 87° | 77° | 69° |
Flying in and out of South Orange, Orlando
Orlando International sits about 7 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 28.1 million passengers in 2025, with 223 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Orange, Orlando
Schools across South Orange, Orlando average a B+, better than 83% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Blankner K-8A · 65% proficient
- Pineloch ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Memorial MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- William R Boone HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Oak Ridge HighC · 33% proficient
- Ucp Transitional Learning Academy CharterD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Orange, Orlando school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Orange, Orlando measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South Orange, Orlando against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Orange, Orlando
Is South Orange, Orlando a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Orange, Orlando ranks 1,499th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on summer heat and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Orange, Orlando expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $585,165. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $100,506 median income, cost of living beats 82% of neighborhoods.
Is South Orange, Orlando safe?
South Orange, Orlando is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $389 per resident a year.
Compare South Orange, Orlando with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Orange, Orlando. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Orange, Orlando represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South Orange, Orlando detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Orange, Orlando: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Orange, Orlando: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Orange, Orlando: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Orange, Orlando: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Orange, Orlando detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.