ORLANDO FLORIDA GEOGRAPHY
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Orlando, Florida has a total area of 261.5 km² (100.9 mi²). 242.2 km² (93.5 mi²) of it is land and 19.3 km² (7.5 mi²) of it (7.39%) is water. Orlando, Florida is rivaled only by the Twin Cities in the number of natural lakes to be found in its metropolitan area. The Orlando, Florida area is home to more than 100 lakes, the largest of which are Lake Apopka, Eustis, Griffin, Harney, Harris, Jesup, Monroe, Sand Lake, Conway, and Tohopekaliga. The region Orlando, Florida occupies is generally low-lying, the only exception being minor sand hills formed by wave action in earlier geological eras when sea level was higher. These sand hills are found primarily in the western sections of the metropolitan area of Orlando, Florida , especially in Lake County. The area is also very prone to sink-holes due to the large number of underground limestone caverns that are located in the area. Many of the lakes started as sink holes in recent geologic history.FEATURED APARTMENT ADVERTISEMENTS
ORLANDO FLORIDA ECONOMY
To no surprise, a large part of the Orlando, Florida area economy is involved in the tourist industry. Tourism surrounding Orlando, Florida is worth billions of dollars to the area's economy. Over 48 million visitors came to the Orlando, Florida region in 2004. The convention industry is also critical to the region's economy, due partly to the multitude of attractions available for all age ranges in the area. The Orange County Convention Center, expanded in 2004 to over two million square feet (200,000 mē) of exhibition space, is now the second-largest convention complex in the United States.
The Orlando, Florida
area's economy includes other industries besides tourism, such as manufacturing.
Lockheed-Martin has a large manufacturing facility for aeronautical crafts and
related high tech research due to Orlando, Florida's
proximity to the NASA Kennedy Space
Center. Since the 1970's and 1980's the area is also home to many computer software
and hardware firms, such as IBM. Another developing sector is the film, television,
and electronic gaming industries, aided by the presence of Universal Studios,
Disney-MGM Studios, Full Sail School, and other entertainment companies and
schools. Numerous office complexes for large corporations have popped up along
the Interstate 4 corridor north of Orlando, Florida
, especially in Maitland, Lake Mary
and Heathrow. The U.S. modeling, simulation, and training (MS & T) industry is
centered around the Orlando region as well, with a particularly strong presence
in the UCF Research Park.
Nearby Maitland is the home of Tiburon, a division of the video game company Electronic Arts. Originally Tiburon Entertainment, it was acquired by EA in 1998 after years of partnership, particularly in the famous Madden NFL series and NCAA Football series of video games. Due to this, there were rumors in 2005 that EA may move its corporate HQ to Orlando, Florida.
ORLANDO FLORIDA NEIGHBORHOODS
The city of Orlando, Florida has 115 neighborhoods in the city limits, some of which are:* Airport North
* Avalon Park
* Baldwin Park
* Callahan
* Central Business District
* College Park
* Colonialtown North
* Colonialtown South
* Crescent Park
* Delaney Park
* Downtown
* EastWood
* Lake Davis / Greenwood
* Lake Eola Heights
* Metro North
* Metrowest
* Millenia
* North Orange
* Park Central
* Park Lake Highland
* Rosemont
* Richmond Heights
* Roosevelt Park
* Southwest
* Stoneybrook
* Thornton Park
* University Heights
* Waterford Lakes
* West Colonial
ORLANDO FLORIDA METROPOLITAN AREA
In the Orlando, Florida area, like most metropolitan areas in Florida, the majority of the population lives outside the city proper. Orlando, Florida is the center of a four-county metropolitan area that includes Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties. Oviedo, in Seminole County, has been listed as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Clermont (Lake) and Poinciana (Osceola) have also seen explosive growth. Although technically outside of the Orlando, Florida metro area, Deltona grew so fast that it overtook Daytona Beach as the largest city in Volusia County as of the 1990 census.ORLANDO FLORIDA DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 185,951 people, 80,883 households, and 42,382 families residing in the city of Orlando, Florida. The population density was 767.9/km² (1,988.9/mi²). There were 88,486 housing units at an average density of 365.4/km² (946.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city of Orlando, Florida was
61.10% White, 26.70% African
American, 2.90% Asian, 0.34% Native American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 5.41%
from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any
race were 17.79% of the population. [Total is greater than 100% because Hispanics
may be of any race.] The city of Orlando, Florida has large Puerto Rican, Colombian,
Haitian, Vietnamese communities (among others), and a growing number of Russian
and British (mostly English) residents.
There were 80,883 households in Orlando, Florida out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.4% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city of Orlando, Florida the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city of Orlando, Florida was $35,732, and the median income for a family was $40,648. Males had a median income of $30,866 versus $25,267 for females. The per capita income for the city of Orlando, Florida was $21,216. About 13.3% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
RESOURCES:
1. Orlando, Florida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.