Central Florida Schools of Excellence 2023 - 2024

• Population: ~1.43 million (April 2020) to ~1.51 million (2025 estimate)
   
• Schools: ~213 regular-attendance public schools (133 elementary, 10 K‑8, 41 middle, 23 high) totaling 276 schools per U.S. News
   
• Students: ~207,600–207,993 enrolled
   

Fun fact: OCPS is the 4th‑largest in Florida, 8th in the U.S., and supports kids speaking 174 languages across 199 countries .

• Population: ~495,600 (2025 estimate) up from ~470,856 (2020 census) en.wikipedia.org+1seminolecountyfl.gov+1
   
• Schools: 57 traditional (9 high, 12 middle, 36 elementary) datacommons.org+3niche.com+3datacommons.org+3
   
• Students: ~66,680 (U.S. News) census.gov+15datacommons.org+15datacommons.org+15
   

Fun fact: Ranked #1 in Florida for STEM by Niche; offers specialized programs and optional kindergarten district-wide .

• Population: ~852,878 (2024); projected ~878,226 in 2025
   
• Schools: ~164 public schools businessinsider.com
   
• Students: ~109,558
   

Fun fact: Polk is the fastest‑growing county in the U.S., leading domestic migration numbers as a remote‑work “ex‑urb” hotspot; yet it still retains deep citrus‑farming roots .

• Population: ~468,058 (2024) up from ~388,656 (2020) businessinsider.com+3en.wikipedia.org+3datacommons.org+3
   
• Schools: 84 public schools seminolecountyfl.gov+1niche.com+1
   
• Students: ~73,558 (2022‑23) per Wikipedia; U.S. News lists ~74,289
   

Fun fact: Osceola County School for the Arts ranks high (#778 nationally in 2019), and its students earned over $7.9 million in scholarships .

• Population: ~553,544 (2020); ~611,700 in 2025 census.gov
   
• Schools: ~85–92 total (45 elementary, 12 middle, 9 high + alternatives, charters, combos, virtual)
   
• Students: ~62,750–63,000
   

Fun fact: VCS is the county's largest employer, with over 8,000 staff—more than half being state-certified teachers, and ~40% holding advanced degrees .

• Population: ~424,462 (2023); ~453,200 in 2025 worldpopulationreview.com+12worldpopulationreview.com+12censusreporter.org+12
   
• Schools: Between 49–63 public schools (district: 49; includes charters to total 63)
   
• Students: ~48,285 (NCES/Wikipedia), ~47,452 (U.S. News), ~47,777 (PublicSchoolReview)
   

Fun fact: Lake County is home to ~250 named lakes and 1,735 additional water bodies—the most in Florida .