Twenty-five miles from Orlando, the city of Sanford offers a more understated atmosphere than the rapidly developing metropolis and tourist hub to its south. It was founded in the late 1800s on the shore of Lake Monroe as a railroad stop and an agricultural community. Today, Victorian homes, brick streets and moss-draped oaks remain throughout the city. Sanford has grown into a municipality of 63,000 residents, but it’s still largely a bedroom community.
Sanford is the county seat of Seminole County, home to 478,000 residents. One of Florida’s geographically smallest counties, it still packs 7,300 acres of parks and preserves into its boundaries. The Wekiva River and its tributaries support an array of wildlife and plant life that often lend an organic vibe to the landscape, though the county is full of suburban towns. The county ranks in the top three statewide for public schools and is among Florida’s 10 wealthiest counties. “Seminole County has a different feel than Orange County to the south,” says Coldwell Banker Realty Sales Associate Christine Elias. “You have a natural feel there because of the Wekiva River Basin.”
Tucked between Lake Monroe and Lake Jessup, Sanford residents enjoy the outdoors on the water as well as on land. A marina extends off downtown into Lake Monroe. There, boaters moor their vessels alongside the Barbara-Lee, an old-school riverboat that provides cruises across the lake and down the St. Johns River. Lake Jessup has the distinction of being one of the most alligator-infested lakes in Florida, but airboats, fishing vessels and kayakers still set out on its waters.
The city operates 27 parks that range from pocket parks to larger green spaces with playgrounds and sports facilities. The 100-acre Boombah Sports Complex draws adult and youth tournaments to Sanford, thanks to the facility’s 15 baseball and softball fields. Meanwhile, Seminole County and state agencies oversee another couple dozen parks and preserves in the area. These spots often encompass hundreds of acres where visitors hike through marsh and scrubland or ride horseback through moss-draped forests. One of the most-visited natural areas is Wekiwa Springs State Park, just across the county line in Orange County. There, the clear natural spring waters stay a dip-friendly 72 degrees all year.
Only 49% of Sanford residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park, according to the Trust for Public Lands. That’s lower than the median for U.S. cities, which is 55%. However, the Seminole County government intensified its focus on outdoor recreation after use of the area’s parks and trails exploded following the COVID-19 pandemic. The county’s Trails Master Plan calls for spending up to $130 million to create 150 miles of additional trails during the 2020s.
Homes in Seminole County sell for a median price of $365,000, a 3% increase from 2023. That’s in line with metro Orlando’s median home price of $360,000, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. Sanford faces even more of a supply crunch than the Greater Orlando area, with less than three months of home inventory. The scarcity of vacant land limits widespread residential development, though home construction is bustling on Sanford’s east side. The streets around downtown Sanford are bordered by older houses, often built in the 1950s or earlier.
Residents are slow to exit Sanford or the other six cities that make up Seminole County once they settle there, says Elias, a Realtor in Central Florida for more than 10 years. “If people live in Seminole County, they don’t leave it. I had clients of mine whom I sold a house in the county right when COVID hit. They had to sell it because they needed more space, but they wanted to be in the same school zone. That was important to them.”
It’s not a coastal community, but FEMA still ranks the risk of a hurricane hitting Seminole County as “relatively high.” For example, Hurricane Ian dumped intense rains in the area in 2022. The storm racked up $340 million in damages across the county as floodwaters filled homes and gushed into downtown Sanford. FEMA data shows many parts of Sanford are at risk of floods, particularly neighborhoods near Lake Monroe, so flood insurance may be a consideration for new residents.
The idea of fun in Central Florida is often associated with the region’s collection of theme parks, but several Sanford institutions began entertaining residents decades before Walt Disney World opened. The Central Florida Zoo and The Ritz Theater both date to the early 1920s. The region hosts a small but robust museum scene, with museums chronicling the histories of Sanford, Seminole County and Goldsboro. Residents who want to spend the day at an amusement park get to skip out on the long road trips or rushed flights most tourists endure to reach Orlando. Instead, locals are within 45 miles of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando.
Orlando and Winter Park are often considered the metro area’s hubs for locally owned restaurants. However, downtown Sanford’s food and drink scene has blossomed in the last half-decade. The city’s lower retail rents have attracted many restaurateurs. Nearly 20 eateries line downtown’s streets, serving cuisine that ranges from Greek dishes to Jamaican food. Among them is Hollerbach’s German Restaurant, a Sanford hangout for lovers of sausages, steins of beer and live German folk music. Nightlife centers around breweries and cocktail lounges housed in century-old buildings. These businesses often lean into the early-20th-century aesthetic of the downtown. For example, The Imperial at Washburn Imports fills its bar with antique furniture, most of which is for sale, while The Old Jailhouse invites diners to sit in cells left over from the early 1900s, when the building was the county clink.
Mixed in with bars and restaurants are small shops, including several antique stores. Meanwhile, shopping centers cluster on the west side of Sanford, particularly along Interstate 4. These retail complexes feature big-box stores, supermarkets and chain restaurants. On that same side of town is Seminole Towne Center, an indoor shopping mall with 78 stores. The mall, which is reinventing itself to offer more than shopping, now houses an escape room and an entertainment center complete with a bowling alley and go-kart track. The city government and a local real estate developer are also working together to potentially build hundreds of apartments in the former Macy’s.
Community events drive the calendar downtown. At least one reoccurring gathering is scheduled most months. Besides the typical Fourth of July fireworks show and holiday parade, Sanford hosts a few distinct festivities. Sanford Porchfest brings concerts to downtown’s historic residential district, where local bands use the front porches and verandas of 100-year-old homes as stages. If celebrations don’t involve music or food, they almost assuredly center on beer. Eight breweries and taphouses stand in a 16-block area downtown, and these establishments pour plenty of drinks at community events, such as the pet-friendly Pints n’ Paws Craft Beer Festival. On the second Thursday of every month, locals turn out downtown for food, drinks and music at the Alive After 5 street party.
The city’s history isn’t without controversy. Near the end of the 19th century, the neighboring community of Goldsboro was formed as the second-oldest Black-founded town in Florida. However, the state government dissolved Goldsboro in 1911, and Sanford annexed Goldsboro into its boundaries, the start of a slow decline for the once-thriving community. In 2012, neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a Sanford gated community. Zimmerman claimed the shooting was in self-defense, and a jury found him not guilty of murder. Zimmerman’s acquittal after the death of Martin, who was Black, set off demonstrations across the country and led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Those who want their kids to attend the best public schools in the Orlando area often head to Sanford or surrounding communities. Niche ranks Seminole County Public Schools as the top district in the Orlando metro and the third -best in the state. Seminole County student performance outpaces state averages in all core subject areas, according to Florida Department of Education data. The district’s high schools each operate distinct Programs of Emphasis, which award students career-specific certifications upon completion. These certifications can help teens start careers in fields such as bioscience technology, finance and aviation. In addition, Seminole High School and Winter Springs High School both have International Baccalaureate programs. Fifteen percent of Seminole County students learn in one of the county’s 67 private schools, and Niche ranks Lake Mary Preparatory School, 5 miles from Sanford, as the fifth-best private school in Greater Orlando.
Some students go on to enroll at Seminole State College of Florida in Sanford, where they can earn associate or bachelor's degrees in fields such as construction, education and nursing. The public college earns a grade of C-plus from Niche. It’s not the only higher- learning option in the area, as the University of Central Florida is 20 miles to the south. The second-largest university in the nation based on undergraduate enrollment, UCF’s notable programs span from a hospitality- management college to an engineering school.
Statistics show crime in Sanford is a bit higher than in the typical U.S. city. Data site CrimeGrade reports Sanford’s crime rate as 31.65 per 1,000 residents, meaning 66% of cities are safer than Sanford. Aggravated assaults accounted for most of Sanford’s violent crimes, while most of the property crimes were acts of larceny, per FBI data. Meanwhile, instances of crime rose 10% in Seminole County between 2021 and 2022, per the latest data available from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
State Road 417 connects Sanford to Orlando. Interstate 4 extends past Sanford’s west side, providing an alternate way to travel to Orlando, as well as to destinations to the northeast that include Daytona. Beach. Census data shows that drivers in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro face the 15th-longest average commute among the nation’s major metros. However, the typical commute to work in Sanford takes 25 minutes, on par with the national average. Only about 1% of residents use public transportation, but the city is home to a station for SunRail, Central Florida’s train system. In total, SunRail travels a 49-mile north-to-south line, with 16 stations in between. Residents can travel between Sanford’s SunRail station and downtown on the city’s free trolley.
Flights take off to more than 60 domestic and international destinations from Orlando Sanford International Airport. Although the airport reaches less than half as many destinations as Orlando International Airport, security lines often take less time at Orlando Sanford International. Amtrak’s Auto Train transports passengers and their cars or boats between Sanford and Lorton, Virginia.
