Buying a home in Orlando: schools, commute and walkability by community
Greater Orlando spreads out, so where you buy decides your school zone, your drive and how much you can do on foot. Here is how the 9 communities we cover compare on all three, measured the same way for each.
School grades for 2025–26 · Drive times and places computed October 2026.
Schools
Florida grades every public school from A to F each year. In 6 of the 9 communities (Hamlin, Isles of Lake Nona, Lakeshore Preserve, Laureate Park, Sunbridge and Waterleigh), every zoned school we list earned an A for 2025–26.1 Where a community lists more than one school for a level, the assignment depends on the address, so confirm it with the district.
| Community | Zoned schools rated A |
|---|---|
| Hamlin | 5 of 5 |
| Isles of Lake Nona | 3 of 3 |
| Lakeshore Preserve | 3 of 3 |
| Laureate Park | 5 of 5 |
| Sunbridge | 2 of 2 |
| Waterleigh | 5 of 5 |
| Meridian Parks | 1 of 3 (1 not graded yet) |
| Storey Park | 1 of 3 (1 not graded yet) |
| Storey Lake | 0 of 3 |
Commute
Drive times from each community’s center to the same three places, estimated without traffic over OpenStreetMap roads.2 Rush hour can add a lot, so drive your own commute at the time you’d make it before you buy.
- Closest to Downtown Orlando: Storey Park, about 24 minutes
- Closest to Orlando International Airport (MCO): Laureate Park, about 18 minutes
- Closest to Walt Disney World: Storey Lake, about 14 minutes
| Community | Downtown Orlando | Airport | Walt Disney World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamlin | 29 min | 43 min | 22 min |
| Isles of Lake Nona | 31 min | 24 min | 35 min |
| Lakeshore Preserve | 35 min | 48 min | 17 min |
| Laureate Park | 30 min | 18 min | 30 min |
| Meridian Parks | 27 min | 23 min | 37 min |
| Storey Lake | 29 min | 31 min | 14 min |
| Storey Park | 24 min | 20 min | 34 min |
| Sunbridge | 37 min | 31 min | 42 min |
| Waterleigh | 35 min | 49 min | 18 min |
Walkability
To compare how much is within walking distance, we counted named places within a mile, as the crow flies, of each community’s center in OpenStreetMap.3 Storey Lake has the most. Hamlin, Isles of Lake Nona, Storey Lake, Storey Park and Waterleigh have a grocery store that close.
| Community | Grocery | Eat out | Parks | Schools, child care |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storey Lake | 2 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| Hamlin | 2 | 18 | 1 | 2 |
| Laureate Park | 0 | 9 | 9 | 4 |
| Isles of Lake Nona | 1 | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| Lakeshore Preserve | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Storey Park | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Waterleigh | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Meridian Parks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sunbridge | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nothing is mapped yet near Sunbridge’s center, a new area. A count isn’t a walk score: it doesn’t measure sidewalks, crossings or the actual walking route, and new stores can take a while to appear on the map. Walk the route you’d take before you rely on it.
How we measured
School grades come from the Florida Department of Education’s file for 2025–26, matched to the zoned schools on each community page. Drive times and nearby places start from the same point for each community, the center we map it at, and use OpenStreetMap data routed with OSRM, computed October 2026. Each community page shows its own figures with the same sources.