Ocala is the seat of Marion County, Florida, a city of 71,753 people (Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025), up from 63,591 in the 2020 Census. City Hall is at 110 SE Watula Avenue, and I-75 is about four miles west of it by SR-200.
Ocala is not part of the Orlando area. From City Hall, downtown Orlando is about 79 miles and 92 minutes away without traffic, and Orlando International Airport about 88 miles and 107 minutes. The Villages is 24 miles south and Gainesville 38 miles north.
Homes and neighborhoods
The city has 30,387 housing units (ACS 2020-2024). About 52 percent are single-family detached homes, 30 percent are in buildings of five or more units, 13 percent are townhouses and two- to four-unit buildings, and about 5 percent are mobile homes. About 52 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
The median home was built in 1984. About 43 percent of homes were built before 1980 and 28 percent in 2000 or later.
The city lists four historic districts. The Ocala Historic District (on the National Register since 1984) and the Tuscawilla Park Historic District (1988) are also locally designated, so changes to properties there go through certificate of appropriateness review by the Ocala Historic Preservation Advisory Board. The Downtown Commercial district (1998) and the West Ocala Historic District (2022) are on the National Register only.
Many homes with an Ocala address are outside the city. By 2020 Census boundaries the city took in about 59 to 66 percent of the land in the 34470, 34471 and 34474 ZIP code areas, 29 percent of 34475 and under 6 percent of 34476, 34479, 34480 and 34482. The county’s tax rates, utilities and zoning apply outside the limits.
The census median value of owner-occupied homes was $241,400 for 2020-2024. That is a survey figure, not a sale price. To see what is listed now, search homes for sale in Ocala. For one home’s value, see the home valuation page.
search homes for sale in Ocalahome valuation page
Property taxes in Ocala
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 most addresses in the City of Ocala:
| Taxing authority | 2025 millage |
|---|---|
| Marion County general fund | 3.0900 |
| Marion County fine and forfeiture | 0.8300 |
| Marion County health | 0.1000 |
| Marion County School Board (state 3.0720, local 3.2480) | 6.3200 |
| St. Johns River Water Management District | 0.1793 |
| City of Ocala | 6.6177 |
| Total | 17.1370 |
One city tax district is in the Southwest Florida Water Management District instead (0.1831 mills), for 17.1408. Three downtown development districts add 1.4699 to 1.7185 mills, for totals of 18.6069 to 18.8555. An unincorporated address pays no city millage but does pay the county’s law enforcement (3.7200) and emergency medical (1.1100) levies: 15.3493 mills in the St. Johns district.
As a worked example, a homesteaded home in the city assessed at $250,000 owed $1,422 in school taxes and about $2,156 in other taxes for 2025: about $3,578. Without a homestead exemption the same assessment owed about $4,284. The city also levies a fire assessment, a non-ad valorem charge that appears on the same 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 Florida communities sit in a Community Development District (CDD), which charges owners a yearly assessment. It appears on the property tax bill as a non-ad valorem line, beside charges such as the city’s fire assessment. To check a parcel, read its tax bill and the Marion County Property Appraiser’s record.
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, the zoning code as published (through Ordinance 2026-9, March 17, 2026) has no short-term or vacation rental category. In June 2025 the city’s planning board took up an ordinance to define short-term rental residences. Ask the city’s Growth Management Department what applies to an address today.
Outside the city, Marion County’s Land Development Code lists public lodging establishments, a group that includes a “resort dwelling”, as a permitted use in the R-3 zone and a special use, which needs county approval, in the RR-1, R-E, R-1, R-2, R-4, MH and P-MH residential zones. Ask Marion County Growth Services (352-438-2675) how that applies to a home.
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.
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 Marion County’s 4 percent tourist development tax, paid to the Tax Collector, and 7.5 percent sales tax, paid to the state.
A home’s zoning and its association’s documents both have to allow short stays. See also property management.
Schools
Ocala is in Marion County Public Schools. The home address decides the assigned schools, and the district’s MySchoolLocator shows them for the 2026-2027 school year. The district lists charter schools on its charter schools page.
Utilities
Inside the city, the City of Ocala provides electricity through Ocala Electric Utility, along with water, sewer, stormwater, solid waste and fiber service. Its Citizens’ Service Center, 201 SE 3rd Street (352-629-2489), starts and transfers accounts.
Outside the city the providers change by address. The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership lists Clay Electric Cooperative, Duke Energy, the city’s utility and SECO Energy for electricity, and TECO Peoples Gas for natural gas. Marion County Utilities provides water and sewer in parts of the unincorporated county.
Getting around
I-75 is the main highway, and the visitors bureau also names US-441, US-301 and SR-40. The OpenStreetMap route to Orlando follows SR-200 to I-75 and then Florida’s Turnpike, a toll road. The route to The Villages follows US-27 and US-441 south; the route to Gainesville follows I-75 north.
The Florida Department of Transportation is adding an I-75 interchange at NW 49th Street, a project the state funded in 2023.
SunTran, administered by the City of Ocala, runs a fixed-route bus system six days a week.
Ocala International Airport, on SR-40 west of I-75, is a city-owned general aviation airport. For airline flights, Gainesville Regional Airport is about 43 miles from City Hall and Orlando International about 88 miles.
The drive table gives times from City Hall without traffic. I-75 and the Turnpike vary, so allow for it.
Flood zones and insurance
Flood zones go by parcel: search an address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center. Marion County’s interactive map shows FEMA flood zones and the county’s own flood prone areas, and Growth Services (352-438-2675) answers flood zone questions.
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
- Tuscawilla Park, 800 NE Sanchez Avenue, is just northeast of downtown.
- Fort King National Historic Landmark, 3925 E. Fort King Street, is owned jointly by the city and the county, with a reconstructed fort and trails.
- The Ocala Wetland Recharge Park, 2105 NW 21st Street, has about 60 acres with walking trails.
- Silver Springs State Park, 5656 E. Silver Springs Boulevard, is 5.6 miles east of City Hall on SR-40. Its glass bottom boat tours run daily.
- The county’s visitors bureau says Ocala and Marion County are often called the Horse Capital of the World, a trademark registered by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. The World Equestrian Center, 1750 NW 80th Avenue, is about 9 miles west of City Hall.
Other guides: Orlando, Clermont and Groveland.