Excerpted from the Orlando Career Guide

Thanks to plummeting real estate prices, Orlando is an affordable place to live these days. In addition, incomes are reasonable, expenses are average and taxes are low.

Income

The per capita income in the City of Orlando is 23,010 USD, 11 percent lower than the national per capita. Nearly 21 percent of individuals live below the poverty level, compared to 15.9 percent nationwide.

Expenses

The ACCRA Cost of Living Index reports Orlando is nearly 2 percent less expensive than the typical American town. Groceries cost exactly the same as the national average. Housing costs 16.1 percent less and health care costs 7.7 percent less than it does nationwide. Transportation costs 3.5 percent more, utilities cost 8.9 more and miscellaneous goods and services cost 6.6 percent more here.

Housing

The local housing market is a mess. The State of Florida recently had the highest foreclosure rate in the countrywith one in every 318 households in some stage of foreclosure. However, according to the Housing Predictor, Orlando home values will rise 2.4 percent this year.

Taxes

The state of Florida is one of only a handful in the country that levies no personal income tax. Sales tax in Orange County is a reasonable 6.5 percent. (The local government capitalizes on tourists though; hotels tack on an extra five percent ‘bed tax.’) The local tax rate is 6.5 percent. Florida property taxes average 1,589 USD per capita.

This is just a sample of what you'll find in over 75 pages of information in the complete Orlando guide.