Wildwood is a city in Sumter County, Florida, in the central part of the state, and it is the county's largest city. Its population was 15,730 at the 2020 census. A post office has operated in Wildwood since 1881, and the city was named for its remote location in the woods when it was settled. Sumter County's seat is nearby Bushnell, but Wildwood is its most populous municipality. Wildwood grew as a railroad and agricultural town through the late 19th and 20th centuries. Its fortunes changed more recently with the growth of The Villages, the sprawling retirement community that lies immediately adjacent and now spans Sumter, Marion, and Lake counties. In 2015 The Villages petitioned the city of Wildwood for annexation, and the community's expansion has since reshaped Wildwood's economy, housing stock, and retail landscape. The city sits at a major transportation crossroads in central Florida, near the junction of Interstate 75 and Florida's Turnpike, about 55 miles northwest of Orlando and 80 miles northeast of Tampa. This location gives Wildwood quick access to both metropolitan areas, the region's lakes and springs, and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Wildwood anchors the Wildwood-The Villages metropolitan statistical area and forms part of the broader Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona combined statistical area. Public schools are provided by the Sumter County School District, including Wildwood Middle High School, which offers a Cambridge International curriculum, sports, and career and technical education programs. Wildwood's position between a historic small-town core and the rapid development around The Villages gives it a distinctive dual character: a longtime central Florida community now serving one of the fastest-growing areas in the state.