Sanford is a city in Seminole County, Florida, home to about 63,730 people across 24 square miles. Its ZIP codes are 32771 and 32773, and parts of 32746 are in Sanford too.
Homes sold for a median of $211 per square foot across 2 ZIP codes in the three months ending August 2026, and 1 of 2 were seller’s markets.
Mostly Sanford; also Midway (Seminole County)
Mostly Sanford
Mostly Lake Mary; part is in Sanford
Each card is that ZIP code’s whole market, including any part outside Sanford. Seller’s market: under 4 months of supply; buyer’s market: over 6. Methodology
Sanford sits on the south shore of Lake Monroe, at the head of navigation on the St. Johns River. During the Seminole Wars in the 1830s the U.S. Army built Fort Mellon here, and a settlement called Mellonville grew beside it; when Orange County was created in 1845, Mellonville became its county seat. In 1870 Henry Shelton Sanford bought land west of Mellonville and laid out a new town he promoted as the gate city of South Florida. Sanford was incorporated in 1877 and absorbed Mellonville in 1883.
Investment and rail came quickly. A London land company was formed in 1880, the South Florida Railroad was built with its terminus at Sanford, and by 1884 the town had wharves, a depot and a large hotel. Sanford's Belair grove and experimental garden tested more than 140 citrus varieties, including the Valencia orange. A bakery fire on First Street in September 1887 burned the wooden buildings on the east side of town, and the district was rebuilt in brick.
The freeze of the winter of 1894 and 1895 destroyed the citrus crop, and growers turned to vegetables watered by artesian wells and sub-irrigation. By the early 1900s Sanford was one of the country's largest vegetable shipping points and was known as the Celery City. When Seminole County was formed on April 25, 1913, Sanford became its county seat. From 1942 to 1968 the city hosted a U.S. Naval Air Station, whose grounds are now the Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Downtown Sanford faces Lake Monroe, with its brick commercial core along First Street and the blocks just south of the lakefront. The city recognizes a Commercial Historic District and the historic Georgetown neighborhood, each with its own walking tour, and it reviews changes to historic properties through a Certificate of Appropriateness process.
Just south and west of downtown lies the Sanford Residential Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1989. It covers about 250 acres and 76 blocks laid out in a simple grid of numbered streets and avenues named for trees, such as Elm, Myrtle, Oak, Magnolia and Palmetto, roughly between Elm Avenue and Palmetto Avenue from about Third Street south to Thirteenth Street. Blocks were typically split into ten lots about 50 by 117 feet with an alley down the middle. More than 430 buildings date from 1880 to 1933, mostly frame vernacular houses along with Queen Anne, Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Prairie, Mission and Spanish Colonial Revival designs, plus duplexes, small apartment buildings and former rooming houses. Many streets were bricked between 1915 and 1927 and are shaded by large oaks and palms.
Beyond the historic core, the city extends west toward I-4 and State Road 46, where the Seminole Towne Center mall anchors a large shopping area along with a cluster of auto and motorcycle dealers. Goldsboro, a long-established neighborhood within the city, has its own LYNX bus route.
I-4 runs along Sanford's western edge, State Road 46 is the main east-west road from the interstate into downtown, and US 17-92 follows French Avenue through the city. SR 417, the Seminole Expressway toll road, begins at I-4 near Sanford.
SunRail's Sanford station, at 2720 West SR 46 about two miles from downtown, offers commuter rail south toward downtown Orlando, with parking and passenger drop-off. Trains run mainly on weekdays, so the schedule is worth checking. A free city trolley links the station with downtown Sanford. As of 2026 the city lists LYNX Links 34 (Sanford/Goldsboro), 45 (Sanford Seminole Centre and Lake Mary), 46E (SR 46 and downtown Sanford) and 46W (SR 46 and Seminole Towne Center).
Sanford is the southern terminal of Amtrak's Auto Train, which runs daily to Lorton, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., carrying passengers with their cars on a trip of about 17 and a half hours. Orlando Sanford International Airport, at 1200 Red Cleveland Boulevard on the former naval air station, is about 30 minutes by car from downtown Orlando according to the airport. The Sanford RiverWalk lakefront path also serves cyclists and connects to the statewide Coast-to-Coast Trail.
The Sanford RiverWalk runs nearly five miles along the Lake Monroe shore. Its first 1.2-mile phase, from Mellonville Avenue to French Avenue, was finished in 2004, a second phase reached Mangoustine Avenue in 2018, and a third phase of about 3.4 miles ties into the 210-mile Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail and completes a 26-mile loop around the lake. Downtown also has a city marina. West of town on US 17-92, Lake Monroe Wayside Park has a boat launch, picnic pavilions and an old swing bridge used as a fishing pier.
The Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center at 203 South Magnolia Avenue occupies a theater that opened in July 1923 as the Milane, designed by Augusta, Georgia architect Philander P. Scroggs. Renamed the Ritz in 1936, it closed in 1978, was restored by a community group starting in 1998 and reopened in 2000 for live performances. The city-run Sanford Museum at 520 East First Street covers the city's development and its founder, with research collections and a searchable online catalog.
The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens is in Sanford, and the brick blocks of First Street and the surrounding downtown hold the city's shops, restaurants and public art. The city keeps an events calendar for downtown and lakefront gatherings.
Researched and drafted from the public sources below. Updated October 2026. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us.
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Get matched| Nearest major airport | Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB)3 miles away |
|---|---|
| Nearest city of 250,000+ | Orlando, FL22 miles away |
| Nearest city of 1 million+ | Philadelphia, PA851 miles away |
Straight-line distances from the center of Sanford; driving is longer.
Source: Airports from OurAirports (scheduled passenger service); city centers and populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: Members of Congress from the congress-legislators project; districts from the Census Bureau’s relationship files; governor and mayor from Wikidata.
Sanford had 61,051 residents in the 2020 census, up 59% since 2000.
It’s the 60th largest of 954 towns in Florida by population.
Seminole County grew from 10,986 residents in 1920 to 470,856 in 2020.
Seminole County, 1920–2020
Source: U.S. Census Bureau decennial censuses (counties 1900–1990 from the Bureau’s historical county file).
Average highs peak around 92°F in summer, and winter lows average 49°F. About 54.1 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a typical year.
Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Sanford, FL weather station (2 miles away).
193,461 jobs at 14,897 businesses in Seminole County. The biggest industries by employees:
Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 (private employers; jobs counted where people work).
597 doctors and other health care providers list an office in Sanford’s ZIP codes.
Nearest hospitals
Providers with an office here
| Primary care doctors | 51 |
|---|---|
| Specialist doctors | 65 |
| Dentists | 39 |
| Nurse practitioners and physician assistants | 112 |
| Mental health providers | 198 |
| Physical and occupational therapists | 78 |
| Optometrists | 21 |
| Chiropractors | 33 |
| Pharmacies | 28 |
Source: Hospitals from CMS Hospital General Information (ratings are CMS overall star ratings); straight-line distances; providers from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), by practice address and primary specialty.
Parks (57 nearby)
Grocery stores (11 nearby)
Pharmacies (3 nearby)
Libraries (1 nearby)
Museums (4 nearby)
Theaters and performance venues (5 nearby)
Counts are within about 3.5 miles of the center of town.
Source: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (openstreetmap.org/copyright), as mapped by volunteers; it can miss places or include closed ones.
Colleges and universities
Notable people born here
Source: Wikidata (wikidata.org), the free knowledge base; people are listed by place of birth.
Public schools here are run by Seminole. Check each district’s attendance zones for a specific address.
| School | Grades | Students | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bentley Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 903 | Public | 2.9 mi |
| Contracted ServicesSanford | Pre-K–5 | 4 | Special Education | 1.7 mi |
| Galileo School for Gifted Learning SkywaySanford | Pre-K–8 | 804 | Charter | 4.2 mi |
| Goldsboro Elementary MagnetSanford | Pre-K–5 | 901 | Public | 0.9 mi |
| Hamilton Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 671 | Public | 2.5 mi |
| Hospital Homebound ProgramSanford | Pre-K–12 | 28 | Special Education | 1.7 mi |
| Idyllwilde Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 773 | Public | 1.7 mi |
| Midway Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 789 | Public | 2.7 mi |
| Pine Crest Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 714 | Public | 1.0 mi |
| Scps Early Learning CenterSanford | Pre-K | 72 | Public | 2.1 mi |
| Tapp Childcare CenterSanford | Pre-K | 1 | Public | 2.3 mi |
| Wicklow Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 585 | Public | 0.7 mi |
| Wilson Elementary SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 896 | Public | 4.9 mi |
| Galileo School for Gifted LearningSanford | K–8 | 590 | Charter | 4.1 mi |
| Seminole Virtual Instruction Program (Svip)Sanford | K–12 | — | Public | 5.7 mi |
| Journeys AcademySanford | 1–12 | 90 | Alternative Education | 0.8 mi |
| Seminole County Detention CenterSanford | 4–12 | 31 | Alternative Education | 2.4 mi |
| John Polk Alternative SchoolSanford | 6–12 | 6 | Alternative Education | 2.5 mi |
| Millennium Middle SchoolSanford | 6–8 | 1,323 | Public | 2.5 mi |
| Sanford Middle SchoolSanford | 6–8 | 1,385 | Public | 1.2 mi |
| Scps Consequence UnitSanford | 6–12 | 25 | Alternative Education | 1.8 mi |
| Crooms Academy of Information TechnologySanford | 9–12 | 738 | Public | 1.4 mi |
| Elevation High SchoolSanford | 9–12 | 246 | Charter, Alternative Education | 3.0 mi |
| Seminole High SchoolSanford | 9–12 | 3,807 | Public | 0.2 mi |
| School | Grades | Students | Affiliation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Souls Catholic SchoolSanford | Pre-K–8 | 197 | Roman Catholic | 1.8 mi |
| City Church AcademySanford | Pre-K–6 | 125 | Assembly of God | 4.8 mi |
| Holy Cross Lutheran AcademySanford | Pre-K–5 | 187 | Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod | 4.9 mi |
| Live Oak Montessori SchoolSanford | Pre-K–5 | 17 | Nonsectarian | 1.9 mi |
| Primrose School of Lake Mary HeathrowSanford | Pre-K–K | 16 | Nonsectarian | 5.0 mi |
| Riverwalk Christian AcademySanford | Pre-K–7 | 40 | Church of God | 0.8 mi |
| Wise AcademySanford | Pre-K–4 | 23 | Islamic | 3.2 mi |
| Central Fl Academy SanfordSanford | K–12 | 70 | Nonsectarian | 0.8 mi |
| Prodigy Academy Advance Learning CenterSanford | K–8 | 26 | Nonsectarian | 0.8 mi |
| Top Kidz Christian Academy Private SchoolSanford | K–9 | 50 | Christian (no specific denomination) | 1.2 mi |
| Holy Cross Lutheran Academy Upper SchoolSanford | 6–12 | 207 | Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod | 2.5 mi |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, NCES: Common Core of Data (2024-2025) for public schools; Private School Universe Survey (2023-2024) for private schools. Listed by address; we don’t rate schools.
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Shares ZIP codes with Lake Mary, Heathrow and Midway (Seminole County).
Town boundaries don’t always match ZIP codes: a ZIP code can cross into neighboring towns, and a town can share a ZIP code with its neighbors. Facts describe the town itself; market figures describe whole ZIP codes.