Welcome to Ocala ...

The city of Ocala is located in Marion County<1> and is the County Seat for Marion County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Ocala, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Ocala has a population of 60,854 people<2> (see below for details).

Ocala is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Ocala lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Ocala is located in the (352) area code.

The ZIP codes for Ocala: 34470-34483<4>

Websites for Ocala ...

Official Website:   www.ocalafl.org/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.ocalacc.com/

Junior League:   www.juniorleagueofocala.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ocala had an population of 60,854 people. This is an increase of 8.06% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 32.46% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Ocala had a population of 56,315 people (which is 17% of the total population of Marion County). This makes Ocala the county's most populous community.

The population of Ocala represents 0.3% of the population of Florida (which has 18,801,310 people), making it the state's 44th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 56,315 people, the population of Ocala increased 22.58% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 45,943 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Ocala.

Communities Also Named Ocala ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 3 communities that are also named Ocala - they are located in Georgia, Nevada and Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ocala.

Communities near Ocala ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ocala.

• Belleview
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
  • Belleview is located in Marion County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,208 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belleview <5>
• Reddick
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reddick
  • Reddick is located in Marion County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reddick <5>
• McIntosh
  (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
  • McIntosh is located in Marion County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 507 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <5>
• Silver Springs
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
  • Silver Springs is located in Marion County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Springs <5>
• Anthony
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony
  • Anthony is located in Marion County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anthony <5>
• Martin
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Martin is located in Marion County
• Fellowship
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
  • Fellowship is located in Marion County
• Silver Springs Shores
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Springs Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs Shores
  • Silver Springs Shores is located in Marion County
• Lowell
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
  • Lowell is located in Marion County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowell <5>
• Sparr
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparr
  • Sparr is located in Marion County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sparr <5>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ocala. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ocala.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ocala. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ocala.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ocala. Our list includes 28 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Ocala.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ocala ...

Looking for more information about Ocala? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Ocala, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Ocala.

Adding Ocala to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Ocala in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ocala was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Ocala.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Ocala: www.ocalafl.org/

The official website for Marion County: www.marioncountyfl.org/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/