Established in 1887, Osceola County is 1,506 square miles touching Orange County’s southern border and most of the eastern border running along the Kissimmee Lake/River. Serving as a passageway to Disney World, the county’s main economic base is tourism with ranching and agriculture (citrus) also playing a strong role. The Kissimmee Chain-of-Lakes and the Lake Okeechobee/Florida everglades ecosystem offer some of the state’s finest fishing and recreational attractions.

As of 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded the total population as 172,493 with 72,293 housing units. The U.S. Census Bureau’s annual estimate of the population for 2008 is 263,676 with an estimated 120,997 housing units. This is showing an increase of more than 30% in the population in 8 years.