The best places to live near Orlando: where new homes are, compared
The best place to live depends on what you put first: price, the drive to work, schools or taxes. So instead of a ranking, here are the 4 suburbs where we cover new-home communities, sorted by each of those.
Checked October 2026 · Summarized from 9 community pages, where every figure has its source.
If you put this first, look at…
- The lowest starting price
- Lake Nona, new homes from $382,990
- The shortest drive downtown
- Lake Nona, 24–31 min to downtown
- The shortest drive to the airport
- Lake Nona, 18–24 min to MCO
- The shortest drive to Disney
- Kissimmee & Four Corners, 14 min to Walt Disney World
- The most A-rated zoned schools
- Horizon West, 9 of 9 zoned schools rated A or St. Cloud, 2 of 2 zoned schools rated A
- The lowest property tax rate
- Kissimmee & Four Corners, 13.83 mills in 2026 or St. Cloud, 13.83 mills in 2026
- The fewest high-risk flood points nearby
- Kissimmee & Four Corners, 6 of 25 sampled points high-risk
Drive times are without traffic, from each community’s center. Areas where we cover a single community rest on that one community’s numbers.
Side by side
| Area | New homes from | Downtown | Airport | Disney | Schools rated A | Tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon West | $434,990 | 29–35 min | 43–49 min | 17–22 min | 9 of 9 | 16.03 mills |
| Kissimmee & Four Corners | Resale only | 29 min | 31 min | 14 min | 0 of 3 | 13.83 mills |
| Lake Nona | $382,990 | 24–31 min | 18–24 min | 30–37 min | 6 of 8 | 18.03 mills |
| St. Cloud | $449,990 | 37 min | 31 min | 42 min | 2 of 2 | 13.83 mills |
Areas run west to east. Tax rate is the lowest 2026 millage among the area’s communities; a CDD fee, where there is one, comes on top. See what a CDD is.
Horizon West
Orange County · 3 communities covered, 2 selling
Horizon West is a planned district in southwest Orange County. The county adopted the concept in 1995 for about 20,704 gross acres, laid out as five mixed-use villages and a town center surrounded by greenbelts.
Comes out first for the most A-rated zoned schools.
- New homes from $434,990
- HOA dues from $150–$293 a month
- No CDD fee
- 3–9 of 25 sampled points nearby in FEMA high-risk flood zones
Communities: Hamlin, Lakeshore Preserve, Waterleigh · All about Horizon West
Kissimmee & Four Corners
Osceola County · 1 community covered, resale homes only
The area south of Disney along US 192 and I-4.
Comes out first for the shortest drive to Disney, the lowest property tax rate and the fewest high-risk flood points nearby.
- HOA dues from $159 a month
- CDD fee $1,400–$2,300 a year
- 6 of 25 sampled points nearby in FEMA high-risk flood zones
Communities: Storey Lake · All about Kissimmee & Four Corners
Lake Nona
Orange County · 4 communities covered, 2 selling
Lake Nona is a 17-square-mile community planned and developed by Tavistock Development Company in southeast Orlando, next door to Orlando International Airport.
Comes out first for the lowest starting price, the shortest drive downtown and the shortest drive to the airport.
- New homes from $382,990
- HOA dues from $128–$333 a month
- CDD fee $870–$3,090 a year
- 8–10 of 25 sampled points nearby in FEMA high-risk flood zones
Communities: Isles of Lake Nona, Laureate Park, Meridian Parks, Storey Park · All about Lake Nona
St. Cloud
Osceola County · 1 community covered
The city of St. Cloud was founded in 1909 as a community for Union veterans of the Civil War.
Comes out first for the most A-rated zoned schools and the lowest property tax rate.
- New homes from $449,990
- HOA dues from $141 a month
- CDD fee $1,599–$1,599 a year
- 7 of 25 sampled points nearby in FEMA high-risk flood zones
Communities: Sunbridge · All about St. Cloud
What about safety?
We don’t rate places as safe or unsafe: what feels safe differs from person to person, and the data is public. Our safety guide shows where to look up crime reports for any address and how to check a home’s flood zone.
What this page doesn’t cover
It compares only the areas where we cover new-construction communities. Established suburbs such as Winter Park or Lake Mary aren’t here. For the city itself, start with Living in Orlando.