Living in Clermont, Florida

Clermont is a city of 52,812 people (Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025) in south Lake County, Florida, up from 43,021 in the 2020 Census. It was founded in 1884 and incorporated in 1916. City Hall is at 685 W. Montrose Street, and downtown Orlando is about 26 miles east.

A Clermont mailing address does not mean a home is in the city. By 2020 Census boundaries, 38 percent of the land in the 34711 ZIP code area and less than 1 percent of the 34714 area (south along US-27 toward Four Corners) was inside the city limits. Most of the rest is unincorporated Lake County. The tax rate, the utilities and the rental rules all change at the city line.

Homes and neighborhoods

The city has 19,445 housing units (ACS 2020-2024). About 69 percent are single-family detached homes, 21 percent are in buildings of five or more units, and about 8 percent are townhouses, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. About 68 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied.

Most of the housing is recent. The median home was built in 2006, and 76 percent of homes date from 2000 or later.

Lake County’s plat records show the order in which the newer parts of the city were built. Kings Ridge was platted from 1997 to 2005, Summit Greens from 2000 to 2005, Legends from 2001 to 2006 and Lost Lake Reserve from 2003 to 2009. Heritage Hills followed from 2008 to 2017, Highland Ranch from 2015 to 2022 and Waterbrooke from 2018 on. The newest plats are in the Wellness Way area east of US-27: Wellness Ridge (2023 to 2026), Parkside Trails (2025 and 2026) and Olympus (2026).

Greater Groves, Serenoa, Sawgrass Bay, Greater Lakes and Windsor Cay carry unincorporated Lake County tax district codes in the same records, even where the mailing address says Clermont.

The census median value of owner-occupied homes in the city was $418,400 for 2020-2024. That is a survey figure, not a sale price. To see what is listed now, search homes for sale in Clermont or read the guides to nearby Groveland and Winter Garden. For one home’s value, see the home valuation page.

search homes for sale in ClermontGrovelandWinter Gardenhome valuation page

Property taxes in Clermont

Florida taxes a home on its assessed value less exemptions, times the millage (dollars per $1,000). The homestead exemption for a permanent residence has two parts: the first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from every levy, and a second exemption, on value above $50,000, applies to non-school levies only. The second part began at $25,000 and is adjusted for inflation: $25,722 for 2025 and $26,411 for 2026. Apply to the county property appraiser by March 1.

The 2025 rates for an address in the City of Clermont:

The city’s rate was 4.8800 mills in 2024. Its Wellness Way tax districts add a county Wellness Way levy of 0.4585 mills, for 17.1351. An unincorporated address in south Lake County pays no city millage but does pay the county’s fire (0.4800) and stormwater (0.4957) levies: 13.0623 mills in all.

As a worked example, a homesteaded home in the city assessed at $400,000 owed about $2,282 in school taxes and $3,699 in other taxes for 2025: about $5,981. Without a homestead exemption the same assessment owed about $6,671. Non-ad valorem assessments are added to the bill.

Two caps matter to a buyer. A homesteaded home’s assessed value can rise by no more than 3 percent a year or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower (2.7 percent for 2026); other property is capped at 10 percent a year. A sale ends the seller’s cap, and the home is reassessed at market value the next January 1, so a buyer’s bill can be much higher than the seller’s last one.

The property appraiser mails the TRIM notice of proposed taxes in August. Bills go out about November 1, with a 4 percent discount for payment in November, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January and 1 percent in February. Taxes are delinquent April 1.

CDD and HOA fees

Some newer communities sit in a Community Development District (CDD), a special district that builds and maintains community improvements and charges owners a yearly assessment. The Wellness Ridge Community Development District, for example, was created by City of Clermont Ordinance 2022-018 on May 10, 2022. The district manager has the current assessment for a lot.

CDD assessments appear on the property tax bill as non-ad valorem lines, so the bill and the Lake County Property Appraiser’s record are where to check a parcel.

Homeowners association dues are separate and are set by each association. Florida’s estoppel certificate (section 720.30851, Florida Statutes) is how a buyer gets the association’s own figures before closing; the association must issue it within 10 business days of a request. We can help you get the HOA documents for a home you are considering.

Short-term rental rules

Inside the city, sections 125-586 to 125-590 of the Land Development Code (Ordinance 2019-28, adopted January 28, 2020) cover vacation rentals. The city’s page says they are permitted for non-occupied, whole-house single-family and duplex units. The main points:

• An owner needs a city vacation rental permit before advertising. The code treats a home rented more than three times a year for periods under 30 days as a vacation rental.
• The application needs the state license, a Florida Department of Revenue certificate, sketches of the home and a life-safety inspection. The city lists the fee at $375.
• The permit expires each September 30.
• Overnight occupancy is capped at two persons per sleeping room, with up to four children under 13 not counted. Vehicles must be parked on the property.

Outside the city, Lake County’s zoning applies. The county’s Land Development Regulations, as published through Ordinance 2026-3 (January 20, 2026), address bed and breakfasts and hotels but have no section on short-term or vacation rentals. State law (section 509.032(7), Florida Statutes) bars local rules that prohibit vacation rentals or limit how often or how long they are rented, unless adopted on or before June 1, 2011. Check with the county’s zoning office what a parcel’s zoning allows.

Everywhere, a whole home rented more than three times a year for under 30 days needs a vacation rental license from Florida’s DBPR. Stays of six months or less owe Lake County’s 4 percent tourist development tax, plus 6 percent state sales tax and the 1 percent local option tax.

A home’s zoning and its association’s documents both have to allow short stays. See also property management.

property management

Schools

Clermont is in Lake County Schools. Assignment goes by home address, not by city name, and the district’s School Locator shows the attendance boundaries the School Board approved for the 2026-2027 school year. The district lists charter schools on its charter schools page.

Utilities

The City of Clermont provides water, irrigation water, sewer, garbage and stormwater service, though not every service at every address: the city says some come from Lake County or private utilities, and its Utility Billing office (352-241-7320) confirms what it serves. The residential deposit is $200, and city garbage service is $29.78 a month (October 2026).

For electricity, Duke Energy’s Clermont district office serves the area, and SECO Energy, a member-owned cooperative, serves parts of Lake County; the address decides. Lake Apopka Natural Gas District, which has a Clermont office, supplies natural gas.

Getting around

SR-50 and US-27 are the city’s main roads. The OpenStreetMap route to downtown Orlando follows SR-50, Florida’s Turnpike and SR-408; the route to Walt Disney World follows US-27, Schofield Road and SR-429. The Turnpike, SR-408 and SR-429 are toll roads. The Turnpike’s nearest interchanges are Clermont/SR 50 and Minneola/Hancock Road, and it is being widened north of Minneola through 2028.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority is building SR 516, the Lake/Orange Expressway: a 4.4-mile toll road between US-27 and SR-429, with a partial opening expected in spring 2027 and completion in early 2029.

LakeXpress Route 50 runs hourly on weekdays: the west loop between Mascotte, Groveland and the Clermont Park and Ride, and the east loop to Winter Garden, where riders transfer to LYNX Link 105.

The drive table gives times from City Hall without traffic. SR-50 and I-4 traffic varies, so allow for it.

Flood zones and insurance

Flood zones go by parcel. The city notes that FEMA updated Lake County’s flood maps in 2012; search an address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center. Lake County’s floodplain office (352-253-9081) keeps flood zone information and any elevation certificates on file, and reminds owners that most standard homeowner’s policies do not cover floods.

For wind, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation gives discounts on the wind part of a premium for features documented on the state’s wind mitigation inspection form (OIR-B1-1802).

Parks and things to do

• The city maintains 22 parks and the Clermont Historic Village, all with free admission.
• The Clermont Boat Ramp, 140 East Avenue on Lake Minneola, has 102 trailer spaces at $15 a day. City residents can buy an annual pass for $20 plus tax; Lake County residents outside the city limits cannot.
• Clermont’s South Lake Trail is at the halfway point of the Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail.
• The Clermont Chain of Lakes is a set of connected lakes on the Palatlakaha River system, including Minneola, Minnehaha and Louisa.
• Lake Louisa State Park, 7305 US-27, is south of the city, with cabins, campsites and about 20 miles of trails.