Orlando continues to be a city on the rise, with thousands of new residents choosing to call The City Beautiful home each year. This steady influx fuels economic growth, drives innovation, and adds to our rich cultural diversity.
But with rapid growth comes new challenges. Our population is expanding faster than our housing supply, leading to increased demand and rising costs. From 2020–2024, Orlando’s population grew by 14%, while housing grew only 11%, leaving a shortage of approximately 9,400 units.
Like many cities nationwide, we’re facing a growing need for more affordable housing options to ensure everyone can thrive. In fact, by 2035, Orlando is projected to add 90,000 residents, requiring 46,000 new housing units.
Orlando Unlocked, the City of Orlando’s housing initiative, aims to tackle the housing shortage while providing quality housing options for residents at every income level through a robust development pipeline.
This development pipeline includes flexible zoning and incentives, ensuring housing can be permitted and under construction quickly. These approvals ensure sites are more readily available as the demand grows into the future. As of August 2025, there are 9,200 units under construction, 18,000 units approved or in permit review, with zoning in place for 44,000 units across the city.
Since 2014, the city has invested or committed more than $75 million to create and preserve housing opportunities for our residents. This includes facilitating the construction or rehabilitation of more than 3,000 affordable rental units. We have also funded home repairs to help people stay in their own homes, including families assisted through our Housing Rehabilitation Program, and have worked to support residents pursuing the American dream of homeownership through programs like our Down Payment Assistance Program.
Through Orlando Unlocked, the city is advancing our goals to ensure every person, at every income level who lives in Orlando has access to safe, high-quality housing they can afford.