# Moving to Apopka, Florida: the practical guide > Moving to Apopka, Florida: 65,552 residents, $399,492 median sale price (Oct 2026), 16.0079 mills, tolls, springs, schools and a first-90-days checklist. Source: https://moorerealtyapopka.com/guides/moving-to-apopka-fl/ · Last updated 2026-11-11 · Robert Moore, Broker/Owner, Moore Realty Group, Inc. · 352-504-6371 - [Home](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/) - [Guides](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/guides/) - Moving to Apopka, Florida: the practical guide Guide · Relocating # Moving to Apopka, Florida: *the practical guide.* What the city is, what a house costs in each ZIP code, what tax and insurance add, how long the drive takes and what it costs in tolls. Then a checklist for your first 90 days as a Florida resident. Checked November 12, 2026 Short answer Apopka is a city of 65,552 people (Census estimate, July 1, 2025) in northwest Orange County, 15 to 17 road miles from downtown Orlando. The median sale price was $399,492 for the period ending October 2026 (Redfin), the 2026 property tax rate inside city limits is 16.0079 mills, and the average Orange County homeowners premium with wind coverage is $3,610 a year, as reported from the state regulator's July 2026 report. ## Where Apopka is, and how fast it is growing Population: 65,552Census estimate, July 1, 2025. It was 54,873 in the 2020 Census and 41,542 in 2010. Growth since 2020: 19.4%April 2020 estimates base to July 2025 Land area: 34.56 sq mi2020 Census Owner-occupied homes: 77.7%ACS 2020-2024 Mean commute: 31.3 minutesACS 2020-2024 Incorporated: 1882The City calls itself Orange County's second-largest city The city is inland, near Lake Apopka and Wekiwa Springs State Park. An Apopka mailing address covers more ground than the city limits: much of ZIP codes 32703 and 32712 is unincorporated Orange County. The [Apopka map](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/apopka-map/) and [Living in Apopka](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/living-in-apopka/) show the layout. An Apopka address is not always inside the city City limits decide who collects your trash, who bills your water and which tax code applies. The City tells residents to confirm an address on the Orange County Property Appraiser's site. ## Housing costs by ZIP code Apopka housing costs, October 2026. Sale prices and days on market from Redfin; list prices and rents from Realtor.com. Read November 2026. | Area | Median sale price | Change in a year | Median days on market | Median list price | Median rent | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Apopka (city) | $399,492 | -0.77% | 73 | $428,375 | $2,250 | | ZIP 32703 | $367,846 | -0.58% | 69 | $399,235 | $2,264 | | ZIP 32712 | $456,756 | +5.5% | 70 | $456,200 | $2,215 | ZIP 32703 covers downtown and the south and east side. ZIP 32712 covers the north side: the Rock Springs Road corridor and the Kelly Park Road interchange. Citywide the median is roughly flat from a year ago, and homes take about ten weeks to sell. Orange County's median was $435,037. See [what your budget buys](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/what-your-budget-buys/), the [neighborhood profiles](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/neighborhoods/) and the [rent vs buy calculator](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/rent-vs-buy/). ## Property tax and insurance: the real monthly cost Property tax. The 2026 final rate is 16.0079 mills inside Apopka city limits and 15.9798 mills on the base unincorporated Orange County code. A mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. On a $400,000 purchase that is about $6,403 a year with no exemption and about $5,748 with the homestead exemption under 2026 law. CDD and other non-ad valorem assessments are added on top where they apply. Two warnings. The seller's bill tells you little, because assessed value resets to market value the January after a sale. And Amendment 3, approved by voters on November 3, 2026 (unofficial until certified, with implementing law pending), changes homestead in 2027 and 2028, with a smaller benefit at first for anyone who was not a Florida resident on December 31, 2026. See the [homestead guide](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/guides/florida-homestead-exemption-amendment-3/) and the [property tax estimator](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/property-tax/). Insurance. The Orange County average homeowners premium with wind coverage was $3,610 a year, as reported from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's July 2026 report (data as of March 31, 2026). Roof age and year built move that number a long way. Apopka is inland, so storm surge is not the hazard. Flood risk depends on the parcel: First Street's model, shown on Redfin, puts about 3% of Apopka properties (505) at risk of severe flooding over 30 years. More in the [insurance guide](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/guides/florida-home-insurance-inspections/). ## Commute and tolls Off-peak drive times from Apopka City Hall, from a single routing query on the evening of November 11, 2026. Rush hour is longer and was not measured. - Downtown Orlando: 24 to 28 minutes (15 to 17 miles) - Orlando International Airport: 35 to 48 minutes - Orlando Sanford International Airport: 35 to 41 minutes - Lake Mary: 32 to 36 minutes - Winter Garden: 21 to 25 minutes - Mount Dora: 24 to 29 minutes - Magic Kingdom: 40 to 45 minutes. Universal Orlando: 29 to 38 minutes - New Smyrna Beach: about 71 minutes The fast routes are toll roads. US 441 and SR 436 are free. Central Florida Expressway Authority rates effective July 1, 2026, for a two-axle vehicle with a transponder: $1.38 at the SR 414 Coral Hills plaza, $0.98 at the SR 429 Ponkan plaza, $0.93 at Mt. Plymouth, $1.72 at Forest Lake, and $0.79 at the SR 453 Coronado plaza. Pay By Plate is double. SunRail has no Apopka station. The nearest is Altamonte Springs, about 10 miles away, and it runs Monday to Friday only. LYNX runs four bus routes from the Apopka SuperStop. Try your own trip in the [commute tool](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/commute-times/). ## Utilities - Inside city limits: the City of Apopka provides water, sewer and reclaimed water, and collects garbage, recycling and yard waste in City carts. Open a Utility Billing account before collection can start. - Unincorporated addresses: Orange County Utilities where it serves. Some properties use a private well and septic system. - Septic: much of the Apopka and Wekiva area is in the Wekiwa Springs priority focus area, where Orange County says lots under one acre on conventional septic face requirements to convert or connect once sewer is available. - Electric: the provider depends on the address. Use the Florida Public Service Commission's utility lookup. ## Schools: names and state grades Apopka is served by Orange County Public Schools. These are the Florida Department of Education's 2025-26 school grades, released in July 2026. Public schools with Apopka-area addresses and their 2025-26 Florida DOE school grades (released July 2026). Read from a republished copy of the state file; confirm on the Florida DOE site. | School | Level | 2025-26 grade | | --- | --- | --- | | Apopka High School | High | B | | Wekiva High School | High | C | | Apopka Memorial Middle School | Middle | B | | Piedmont Lakes Middle School | Middle | B | | Wolf Lake Middle School | Middle | A | | Kelly Park School | PK-8 | A | | Apopka Elementary School | Elementary | B | | Clay Springs Elementary School | Elementary | B | | Dream Lake Elementary School | Elementary | B | | Lakeville Elementary School | Elementary | B | | Lovell Elementary School | Elementary | C | | Phillis Wheatley Elementary School | Elementary | C | | Rock Springs Elementary School | Elementary | C | | Wolf Lake Elementary School | Elementary | A | | Zellwood Elementary School | Elementary | C | Attendance zones are set by address and they change: the School Board approved a boundary change affecting four Apopka-area schools for 2026-27. Confirm the zoning for any address with the [OCPS school finder](https://www.ocps.net/school-attendance-zone-maps). ## Parks, springs and annual events - Wekiwa Springs State Park: $6 per vehicle (two to eight people), open 8 a.m. to sundown. Day-use reservations have been required for everyone, annual passholders included, since September 2, 2025. - Kelly Park / Rock Springs: an Orange County park with a spring run for tubing. Admission is $5 per vehicle as of August 11, 2026. - Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive: a free, one-way, 11-mile drive, open to vehicles 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays. - West Orange Trail: 22.32 paved miles from the Lake County line through Winter Garden to Apopka. - Northwest Recreation Complex: more than 180 acres of city fields and courts, and the Apopka Amphitheater. The springs fill up Kelly Park admits 280 vehicles a day and closes to new entries at the limit. Wekiwa Springs sets its daily reservations by capacity. On a warm weekend, reserve Wekiwa ahead and reach Kelly Park when it opens at 8 a.m. The calendar repeats each year: the Apopka Fair in March, the Apopka Art and Foliage Festival on the last full weekend of April (April 24 and 25, 2027), July 4 fireworks at the amphitheater, the Market on Fifth on Friday evenings from September through May, and the Christmas Parade on the second Saturday of December (the 50th is December 12, 2026). ## What is being built - Kelly Park Road: the City issued notice to begin widening about 1.5 miles on March 18, 2026, with completion targeted for Thanksgiving 2027. A funding shortfall was still being negotiated in October 2026. - Wyld Oaks: a mixed-use district at the Kelly Park interchange. A 325-unit apartment community was under construction in October 2026. - Wekiva Ranch: 368 apartments plus commercial space, with a first phase tentatively due in early 2027. - Paulucci Acres: 1,034 homes planned on 618 acres, with buildout anticipated around 2035. - SR 414 extension: a 3.7-mile expressway above Maitland Boulevard from US 441 to I-4, with construction slated for early 2028 and completion around 2031. - Opened in 2026: HCA Florida Wekiva Emergency (March 10) and a fourth Apopka Publix at The Shoppes at East Shore (September 24). The [new development tracker](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/apopka-new-development/) follows each project. ## Your first 90 days - Within 10 days of establishing residency: buy Florida auto insurance, then title and register your vehicles. - Within 30 days: get a Florida driver license, in person at an office that issues them. - Before move-in: open City of Apopka Utility Billing or Orange County Utilities, and electric. - Get an E-PASS or SunPass. Paying by plate doubles every toll. - Register to vote at [RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov](https://registertovoteflorida.gov/) or when you get your license. The [state deadline](https://dos.fl.gov/elections/for-voters/voter-registration/register-to-vote-or-update-your-information/) is 29 days before an election. - By March 1: file for homestead with the Orange County Property Appraiser if you owned and lived in the home on January 1. You need a Florida driver license or ID, plus a Florida vehicle registration, voter registration card or recorded Declaration of Domicile. Homestead is not automatic Missing March 1 waives the exemption for that year. An exemption already on the property record is the seller's, not yours. This guide is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. ## Questions people ask before moving ### How far is Apopka from Orlando? Apopka City Hall to Orlando City Hall is about 17 miles and 24 minutes off-peak on SR 414 and I-4, or about 15 miles and 28 minutes toll-free on US 441. The Census mean commute for Apopka residents is 31.3 minutes. Rush-hour trips take longer. ### How much does a house cost in Apopka? Redfin's median sale price was $399,492 for the period ending October 2026, down 0.77% from a year earlier. By ZIP code it was $367,846 in 32703 and $456,756 in 32712. Realtor.com's median rent was $2,250 a month in October 2026. ### What are property taxes in Apopka? The 2026 total rate is 16.0079 mills inside city limits: 6.3430 for schools, 4.4347 for Orange County, 4.6761 for the City of Apopka and 0.5541 for the library and water management districts. On a $400,000 home that is about $6,403 a year without an exemption and about $5,748 with homestead under 2026 law. ### Do I have to pay tolls living in Apopka? Only if you use the expressways. SR 429, SR 414 and SR 453 are tolled, and US 441 and SR 436 are free. With a transponder the mainline plazas near Apopka cost $0.79 to $1.72 each as of July 1, 2026, and Pay By Plate is double. ### How soon do I need a Florida driver license after moving? Within 30 days of establishing residency, according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vehicles must be insured in Florida, titled and registered within 10 days. Starting a job, enrolling children in public school, registering to vote or filing for homestead each counts as establishing residency. [Neighborhood match](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/neighborhood-match/)[Commute times](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/commute-times/)[Ask Robert about a move](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/contact/) Sources: [U.S. Census QuickFacts](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/apopkacityflorida/PST045225), [Redfin, Apopka housing market](https://www.redfin.com/city/441/FL/Apopka/housing-market), [Orange County Property Appraiser, 2026 final millage](https://ocpaimages.ocpafl.org/api/Content/GetContentDynamicFile?contentFileID=418587), [CFX toll rates, July 1, 2026](https://www.cfxway.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CFX-Toll-Rates-As-of-July-1-2026-FINAL.pdf), [Florida State Parks](https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/wekiwa-springs-state-park/hours-fees), [Florida HSMV, new residents](https://www.flhsmv.gov/new-resident/), [Orange County Property Appraiser, homestead](https://ocpaweb.ocpafl.org/faqcontent/HX_FAQ), [Florida DOE school grades](https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/). Checked November 2026. Robert Moore, REALTOR® is the Broker/Owner of Moore Realty Group, Inc. in Apopka (Florida broker license BK3391152). Questions about anything in this guide? Call or text 352-504-6371. [Working with a Realtor in Apopka](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/apopka-real-estate-agent/) · [About Robert](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/about/)