As of the census^[3]of 2000, there were 185,951 people (2007 estimate counted 227,907 people), 80,883 households, and 42,382 families residing in the city. The population density was 767.9/km² (1,988.9/mi²). There were 188,486 housing units at an average density of 365.4/km² (946.4/mi²). The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males. The median income  for a household in the city was $35,732, and the median income for a family was $40,648. Males had a median income of $30,866 versus $25,267 for females.

Orlando´s history dates back to 1838 and the height of the Seminole Wars. The U.S. Army built Fort Gatlin south of the present day Orlando City limits to protect settlers from attacks by Indians.

By 1840, a small community had grown up around the Fort. It was known as Jernigan, named after the Jernigan family, who had established the first permanent settlement in the area. Jernigan had a post office, established May 30th, 1850.

Six years later with the settlement expanding northward, the community officially changed its name to Orlando. In 1857, the U.S. Post Office adopted the name change. The Town of Orlando was incorporated in 1875 with 85 inhabitants, 22 of whom were qualified voters.

History is not as clear on where the name Orlando originated. There are four stories that are told. One involves Judge James Speer, who worked hard in getting Orlando as the county seat, naming Orlando after a man who once worked for him. Another is that Speer named it after a character from Shakespeare´s, "As You Like It".

A third version has Mr. Orlando on his way to Tampa with a caravan of ox. It is said that he got ill, died and was buried, and that folks would come by and say, "There lies Orlando"

The most common story is about a company of soldiers on duty during the height of the Seminole Wars. After battling Indians back into the swamps on the east side of Lake Minnie (now Cherokee), the military troop settled there for the night. Sentinel Orlando Reeves was guarding the camp when he spotted a log floating toward him. Recognizing the Indian disguise and wanting to warn his fellow soldiers, he fired his gun. Arrows felled the poor fellow as the Indians came out to ambush the camp. The Indians were chased back again, and the south side of Lake Eola was chosen to bury Orlando Reeves.

By the 1920s, when Orlando was experiencing the Florida Land Boom that consumed investors with dreams of big money and lured new citizens on each new train, the architecture had changed. Stuccoed Mediterranean facades sprouted up across downtown. Classically detailed high-rise buildings housed the most fashionable hotels, stores and offices. After the collapse of the Florida Land Boom in the late 1920s and through the 1940s, the pace of development slowed. A more austere, streamlined feeling was found in buildings constructed downtown during that period.

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