The city of Orlando is the county seat of Orange County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 185,951 (metropolitan area 1,644,561). A 2005 U.S. Census Estimates population count gave the city population was 213,223 (metropolitan area 1,933,255), making it the sixth

largest city in Florida. It is also at the head of the Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Orlando-Kissimmee MSA is Florida's third-largest metropolitan area, behind Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. Additionally, Orlando is home to the second largest university in Florida, the University of Central Florida.

The city is best known for the many tourist attractions in the area, particularly the nearby Walt Disney World Resort. Other area attractions include SeaWorld and Universal Orlando Resort. Despite being far from the main tourist attractions, downtown Orlando has recently seen much redevelopment, with many more projects currently under construction or planned. Orlando sees an estimated 52 million tourists a year. Orlando is the 2nd largest city in the country for number of hotel rooms.

The area to the north east of Polk County, part of the greater Davenport area is rapidly developing due to its close proximity to Walt Disney World and other major tourist attractions. Polk County has zoned much of the land to the north of Davenport for short term rental development, and large developments of vacation homes have been built. Many homes are purchased by British residents who rent the homes to tourists for annual vacations to nearby Orlando. This influx of money has a great influence on the economy and local development of Davenport. Over 1,000,000 British residents visit Orlando each year, many preferring to rent a home for their vacation, instead of using the traditional hotels on International Drive and Kissimmee in Greater Orlando.