Living right next to Disney World sounds like the ultimate Disney Adult dream. But one major factor is dashing that dream for many.
Magic Kingdom
Orlando is often called the Theme Park Capital of the World, and for good reason. Home to Universal Orlando, Disney World, SeaWorld, and several other major theme park resorts, you’d be hard-pressed to find a city that draws in theme park tourism quite like Orlando. As such, it makes sense that a lot of people would LOVE to move to this Central Florida area and have daily access to their favorite theme parks. Unfortunately, a new report suggests moving here is not as easy as it sounds.
According to Orlando-based WFTV9 and a WalletHub study, Orlando is one of the WORST cities for rent affordability in the United States.
©City of Orlando
The study indicates that Orlando ranks as the 7th worst city regarding rent affordability, behind Miami, FL (1), Newark, NJ (2), New Haven, CT (3), Detroit, MI (4), Glendale, AZ (5), and Bridgeport, CT (6). The study evaluated over 180 U.S. cities, assessing median annual gross rent versus median household income.
Hilton Orlando Disney Springs ©Disney
WalletHub indicated that the median annual gross rent percentage of the median annual household income was 28.58%. Bismarck, ND had the lowest percentage with 15.34% — quite the stark contrast. As a comparison, Miami, the rest city when it rent affordability, scored a discouraging 33.48%.
Ultimately, if you decide to live in Orlando, get ready to chuck a good chunk of your income into rent costs.
Lake Eola
If you’re thinking, “Hey, Anaheim is cheaper and I can live near Disneyland instead,” don’t get too giddy. California is a notoriously expensive state to live in, and Anaheim is only 10 spots behind Orlando, with 27.58% of the median household income going towards the median annual gross rent.
Alas, it’s expensive to live near the Disney Parks in the United States — no matter which coast you prefer.
Disneyland Railroad Station
Have you ever considered moving to Orlando to be closer to the Disney Parks? Let us know and continue to follow us here at DFB for Disney World tips, fun facts, updates, and more!
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We purchased a house in Central Florida within 20 minutes of AK. The biggest problem is the TRAFFIC! So many apartments have gone up and then you take the tourist during the summer and the Holidays, it’s CRAZY. We don’t visit the parks as often and my backyard pool becomes my oasis. Unless the theme parks are your job, look to live in a different area.
We bought a home in kissimmee for this reason 5 miles away
When I was growing up, it was my dream above all other dreams to even just visit Disneyland and Disney world, let alone live nearby. That would have seemed like heaven, however, the current Disney management is wrecking the place, tearing it down and dismantling and replacing it with extremely mediocre stuff, and that’s putting it very kindly. In my opinion, they’re doing everything that they possibly can to cancel Walt from Disney World, and by doing that they are figuratively doing everything they possibly can to disrespect and disgrace him, short of taking a dump on his grave. It’s disgraceful. These people in management and the current crop of imagineers should be removed immediately and replaced with people who actually love Walt and want to honor his legacy.
We moved from Charlotte NC to Lakeland Fl 6 yrs ago not just because of Disney but a position in the company my husband couldn’t turn down and I work from home so my job is portable but we looked in to Orlando area and the housing market was expensive for what we wanted so we found a nice size home within 35-40 minutes away from Disney which is fine with us still can get to the parks in good time and we have money to spend we wouldn’t have if we bought in Orlando.
I love Florida, and used to love Disney prior to Covid, but I can honestly say Orlando is THE worst place in America, and I have travelled the entire country extensively on business, vacation, and lived from Florida to New York and from California to Montana.
can you do a scary rollercoaster
I haven’t fact checked the basis of rental costs. I assume you are speaking about wages for same relative job (ie waitress). But it still doesn’t make sense. Just 3 cities; New York, Los Angeles, San Fransisco blow away rent or purchase costs. I’m 110% sure of that. Stick to food. Stay away from economics. And dump that source
We moved out of the Orlando area two years ago specifically for this reason. The only people that can afford to live in Central Florida are retirees and people moving into the state and bringing out of state income. The biggest reason for that high percentage is that the average income to average rent disparity is one of the largest in the country. No one in Florida pays a living wage.
The sad part is this wasn’t the case just 5 years ago. My family was able to get in before the housing price hike!