Kissimmee, Florida | |
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.jpg) Kissimmee City Hall in 2017 | |
 Seal | |
| Nicknames: The K, K-Town, Kowtown | |
 Interactive map of Kissimmee | |
  Kissimmee, Florida  Kissimmee, Florida  Kissimmee, Florida | |
| Coordinates:28°18′15″N81°24′46″W / 28.30417°N 81.41278°W /28.30417; -81.41278 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Florida |
| County | Osceola |
| Incorporated | 1883 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Commission-Manager |
| • Mayor | Olga Gonzalez |
| • Vice Mayor | Olga Lucia Castaño |
| • Commissioners | Janette Martinez, Carlos Alvarez III, and Mayor Pro Tem Angela Eady |
| • City Manager | Mike Steigerwald |
| • City Clerk | Tameara Crespo |
| Area | |
• City | 22.20 sq mi (57.50 km2) |
| • Land | 21.50 sq mi (55.69 km2) |
| • Water | 0.70 sq mi (1.81 km2) 3.7% |
| Elevation | 72 ft (22 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 79,226 |
• Estimate (2024)[4] | 84,756 |
| • Density | 3,684.7/sq mi (1,422.67/km2) |
| • Urban | 418,404 (US: 100th)[2] |
| • Urban density | 2,589/sq mi (999.8/km2) |
| • Metro | 2,673,376 (US: 23rd) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 34741-34747, 34758-34759 |
| Area codes | 321,407,689 |
| FIPS code | 12-36950 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404839[3] |
| Website | www |
Kissimmee (/kɪˈsɪmi/ ⓘkih-SIM-ee)[5] is the largest city andcounty seat[6] ofOsceola County, Florida, United States. As of the2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of theOrlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Census Bureau defines anurban area with Kissimmee as the principal city, which is separated from the Orlando urban area. The Kissimmee–St. Cloud, Florida urban area had a 2020 population of 418,404, making it the100th largest in the United States.[2]
The area was originally named Allendale after Confederate Major J. H. Allen, who operated the first cargo steamboat along theKissimmee River—theMary Belle.[7] It was renamed Kissimmee when it was incorporated as a city in 1883. The modern town, the county seat of Osceola County, was founded before the Civil War by the Bass, Johnson and Overstreet families.[8] The etymology of the name Kissimmee is debated, apart from general agreement that it is Native American in origin.[9] Its growth can be credited toHamilton Disston ofPhiladelphia, who based his four-million acre[10] (8,000 km2)drainage operation out of the town. Disston had contracted with the financially wobbly state of Florida to drain its southern lands, for which he would own half of all he successfully drained. This deal made Disston the largest single landowner in the United States.
Disston'sdredging andland speculation required a smallsteamboat industry to transport people and goods along the new waterway. The Kissimmeeshipyard was responsible for building most of these large steamships, which were just one jump ahead of civilization—with Kissimmee as the jumping off point. Concurrently, theSouth Florida Railroad was growing and extended the end of its line fromSanford down to Kissimmee, making the town onLake Tohopekaliga atransportation hub forCentral Florida. On February 12, 1885, theFlorida Legislature incorporated theKissimmee City Street Railway.
Kissimmee's heyday was short-lived. Expanding railroads began to challenge the steamships for carrying freight and passengers. By 1884, the South Florida Railroad, now part of thePlant System, had extended its tracks toTampa. ThePanic of 1893 was the worstdepression the U.S. had experienced up to that time, crushing land speculation and unsound debt. Disston closed his Kissimmee land operation. Consecutive freezes in 1894 and 1895 wiped out the citrus industry. The freezes, combined withSouth Florida's growth and the relocation of steamship operations toLake Okeechobee, left Kissimmee dependent onopen rangecattle ranching.[11][12]
Kissimmee had a population of 4,310 in 1950. At that point, there was some citrus packing as well as ranching.[13]
Ranching remained an important part of the local economy untilWalt Disney World opened nearby in 1971. Tourism and development soon supplanted cattle ranching by a large measure. Even though the Disney facility took over much of the open range cattle lands, cattle ranches still operate nearby, particularly in southern Osceola County.[14]
The1998 Central Florida tornado outbreak killed dozens of people in the area. On August 13, 2004,Hurricane Charley passed through Kissimmee with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), damaging homes and buildings, toppling trees and cutting electrical power to the entire city.Kissimmee Utility Authority restored power to 54 percent of the residents in the first 72 hours and to 85 percent within one week. Service was restored to all customers on August 28. Three weeks after Hurricane Charley, the area was struck byHurricane Frances, thenHurricane Jeanne three weeks later.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 17.32 square miles (44.9 km2), of which 16.7 square miles (43 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (2 km2), comprising 3.7%, is water.[15] Kissimmee andSt. Cloud are the county's only incorporated settlements. They are in proximity to each other along U.S. Highways 192 and 441.
A large geographical area of unincorporatedOsceola County is also referred to as Kissimmee. This includes most of the 192 corridor west of the city border toHighway 27, areas north of the city toHunters Creek, and areas south of the city toPoinciana.
Drained by theKissimmee River, the city is on the northwest shore ofLake Tohopekaliga (locally called Lake Toho, West Lake Toho, or simply West Lake) incentral Florida.Shingle Creek, largely considered the headwaters of theEverglades, also runs through the city, and features a canoe/kayak trail that runs from Steffe Landing onUS 192 and ends inLake Tohopekaliga.
The downtown area lies near the intersection ofU.S. Highway 17/92 andU.S. Highway 192. Downtown Kissimmee has no skyscrapers; most of the buildings are two or three stories high. The biggest and the tallest building downtown is theOsceola County courthouse. The main thoroughfare follows Highway 17/Highway 92 through the city's center and is a combination of three streets: Main Street, Broadway Street, and Emmett Street. The downtown area consists largely of restaurants, small shops, and historic residences. TheUniversity of Central Florida has a business incubator in the area that is an important part of the economic engine downtown.[16]
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild, dry, and sunny winters. According to theKöppen climate classification system, Kissimmee has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa).
| Climate data for Kissimmee, Florida, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 90 (32) | 90 (32) | 92 (33) | 97 (36) | 100 (38) | 101 (38) | 101 (38) | 103 (39) | 98 (37) | 97 (36) | 92 (33) | 90 (32) | 103 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 82.9 (28.3) | 84.9 (29.4) | 87.4 (30.8) | 90.3 (32.4) | 93.9 (34.4) | 95.5 (35.3) | 95.5 (35.3) | 95.3 (35.2) | 94.0 (34.4) | 91.2 (32.9) | 86.7 (30.4) | 83.6 (28.7) | 96.6 (35.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 71.8 (22.1) | 74.4 (23.6) | 77.9 (25.5) | 83.0 (28.3) | 87.4 (30.8) | 90.0 (32.2) | 91.5 (33.1) | 91.4 (33.0) | 89.5 (31.9) | 84.6 (29.2) | 78.6 (25.9) | 73.5 (23.1) | 82.8 (28.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 60.1 (15.6) | 62.6 (17.0) | 66.1 (18.9) | 71.4 (21.9) | 76.6 (24.8) | 80.9 (27.2) | 82.5 (28.1) | 82.7 (28.2) | 81.1 (27.3) | 75.4 (24.1) | 67.9 (19.9) | 62.5 (16.9) | 72.5 (22.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 48.3 (9.1) | 50.7 (10.4) | 54.4 (12.4) | 59.7 (15.4) | 65.8 (18.8) | 71.8 (22.1) | 73.5 (23.1) | 74.1 (23.4) | 72.8 (22.7) | 66.2 (19.0) | 57.3 (14.1) | 51.5 (10.8) | 62.2 (16.8) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 32.7 (0.4) | 35.4 (1.9) | 40.0 (4.4) | 46.9 (8.3) | 55.8 (13.2) | 66.8 (19.3) | 69.9 (21.1) | 70.6 (21.4) | 67.0 (19.4) | 52.4 (11.3) | 42.9 (6.1) | 36.7 (2.6) | 30.6 (−0.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) | 27 (−3) | 25 (−4) | 38 (3) | 41 (5) | 53 (12) | 58 (14) | 60 (16) | 56 (13) | 40 (4) | 29 (−2) | 20 (−7) | 19 (−7) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.67 (68) | 2.37 (60) | 3.07 (78) | 2.43 (62) | 4.17 (106) | 9.18 (233) | 7.21 (183) | 8.38 (213) | 5.88 (149) | 3.07 (78) | 1.99 (51) | 2.15 (55) | 52.57 (1,335) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 7.6 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 15.8 | 16.7 | 17.7 | 14.3 | 8.7 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 119.3 |
| Source: NOAA[17][18] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 1,086 | — | |
| 1900 | 1,132 | 4.2% | |
| 1910 | 2,157 | 90.5% | |
| 1920 | 2,722 | 26.2% | |
| 1930 | 3,163 | 16.2% | |
| 1940 | 3,225 | 2.0% | |
| 1950 | 4,310 | 33.6% | |
| 1960 | 6,845 | 58.8% | |
| 1970 | 7,119 | 4.0% | |
| 1980 | 15,487 | 117.5% | |
| 1990 | 30,050 | 94.0% | |
| 2000 | 47,814 | 59.1% | |
| 2010 | 59,682 | 24.8% | |
| 2020 | 79,226 | 32.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 84,756 | [4] | 7.0% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[19] | |||
| Race | Pop 2010[20] | Pop 2020[20] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 15,633 | 13,244 | 26.19% | 16.72% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 5,725 | 7,061 | 9.59% | 8.91% |
| Native American orAlaska Native (NH) | 125 | 90 | 0.21% | 0.11% |
| Asian (NH) | 1,925 | 2,803 | 3.23% | 3.54% |
| Pacific Islander orNative Hawaiian (NH) | 44 | 33 | 0.07% | 0.04% |
| Some other race (NH) | 213 | 827 | 0.36% | 1.04% |
| Two or more races/Multiracial (NH) | 847 | 1,995 | 1.42% | 2.52% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 35,170 | 53,173 | 58.93% | 67.12% |
| Total | 59,682 | 79,226 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 79,226 people, 22,836 households, and 15,732 families residing in the city.[21]
As of the2010 United States census, there were 59,682 people, 22,040 households, and 15,812 families residing in the city.[22]
Out of Kissimmee's 58.93%Hispanic orLatino residents in the 2010 US census, 33.1% werePuerto Rican, 5.1%Dominican, 4.0%Colombian, 3.9%Mexican, 2.6%Cuban, 1.4%Venezuelan, 0.9%Ecuadorian, 0.7%Salvadoran, 0.7%Peruvian, 0.6%Honduran, and 0.6% wereNicaraguan. Also in 2010, out of the 9.59% non-HispanicAfrican American or Black residents, there was an additional 2.8% of people who wereAfro-Latino or Black Hispanic. The 2010 census also showed that from the 3.23%Asians living in Kissimmee, 1.1% wereIndian and 0.8% wereFilipino.
As of the 2000census, there were 47,814 people, 17,121 households, and 11,813 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,866.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,106.8/km2). There were 19,642 housing units at an average density of 1,177.6 per square mile (454.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 67.22%White, 9.99%African American, 0.52%Native American, 3.38%Asian, 0.10%Pacific Islander, 14.15% fromother races, and 4.66% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 41.73% of the population. The majority of Hispanics residing in the city arePuerto Ricans. There are also smallColombian,Cuban andDominican communities residing in and/or around the city.
In 2000, there were 17,121 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.21.
In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $33,949, and the median income for a family was $36,361. Males had a median income of $25,851 versus $21,025 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $15,071. About 12.3% of families and 15.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
Multinationalmulti-level marketing companyTupperware Brands is based in Kissimmee.
According to Kissimmee's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,[23] the city's top employers are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | School District of Osceola County, Florida | 7,300 |
| 2 | Adventist Health System | 3,565 |
| 3 | Disney Destinations | 3,419 |
| 4 | Publix Supermarkets | 1,795 |
| 5 | Osceola County Government | 1,700 |
| 6 | HCA Healthcare | 1,593 |
| 7 | Buena Vista Construction | 1,296 |
| 8 | McLane/Suneast | 1,270 |
| 9 | Lowe's Distribution Center | 1,035 |
| 10 | Jr. Davis Construction Company | 928 |
From 1985 to 2016, theHouston Astros conductedspring training in Kissimmee, atOsceola County Stadium. The stadium also hosts numerous amateur baseball events throughout the year in conjunction withUSSSA, Triple Crown Sports, World Baseball Federation and Promotion Sports. The Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring has also called Osceola County Stadium home since 1994.
Austin-Tindall Regional Park is an athletic facility in the area that hosts a variety of annual events.
The city is also home to the annualNCCAA men's soccer National Championship Tournament.
Since 2023, theNBA G League teamOsceola Magic have been based in Kissimmee. The Osceola Magic play their home games at theSilver Spurs Arena.
Osceola Heritage Park is an event facility featuring a concert arena (Silver Spurs Arena) and professional sports stadium (Osceola County Stadium). The Silver Spurs Arena has hosted many acts, fromHilary Duff andBob Dylan to an annual rodeo.Jehovah's Witnesses use Silver Spurs Arena for their annual district conventions. In 2008, a number of English and Spanish conventions were held by the Witnesses, bringing thousands of delegates to the Kissimmee area for the three-day events.
Kissimmee has a number of public parks, including:
The Shingle Creek Regional Trail (SCRT) is an inter-governmental project that is planned to connect Kissimmee to Orlando through a 32-mile bicycle trail. It runs along the environmentally sensitive Shingle Creek, and was included on President Obama's America's Great Outdoors list.[24]
Kissimmee is home to a number of golf courses and mini-golf courses.
Kissimmee encompasses the Four Corners District Area, which is home toUniversal Orlando Resort andSeaWorld Orlando, and Lake Buena Vista/Bay Lake, and home toWalt Disney World Resort, allowing tourists to access the parks through the city.
TheSchool District of Osceola County serves Kissimmee. High schools include:
Kissimmee features a multi-modal transportation hub between Neptune Road and Monument Street. It includes theAmtrak train station, which is a stop on theSunRail commuter rail system. There is aGreyhound bus station. The hub also has a bus terminal providing service by theLynx network.
Kissimmee Gateway Airport has fourfixed-base operators that provide service to the area.Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM) accommodates general aviation air service 24 hours a day with two paved airport runways—respectively 5,000 and 6,000 feet (1,500 and 1,800 m).[25] There are also two flight training schools and a museum at the airport.Orlando International Airport can be reached from Kissimmee in 40 minutes by car.
The major roads in the Kissimmee area areFlorida's Turnpike,Interstate 4,Osceola Parkway, andUS 192. Among other important routes areUS 17/92 that join withUS 441 into the Orange Blossom Trail (OBT) and theJohn Young Parkway.
The city of Kissimmee also runs a service named Freebee Kissimmee which is a cab that provides transportation around Downtown Kissimmee,Advent Health, andValencia College.[26]
Osceola Library System operates theHart Memorial Central Library in Kissimmee.[27]
There are only two hospitals in Kissimmee,AdventHealth Kissimmee and HCA Florida Osceola Hospital.[28]
Kissimmee travel guide from WikivoyageMunicipalities and communities ofOsceola County, Florida,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Tallahassee (capital) | |
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