As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,939. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
At the time of the 2010 census, Estero was an unincorporated community and census-designated place, but incorporated as a village on the last calendar date of 2014. Estero (which is the Spanish word for " estuary") is an incorporated village in Lee County, Florida, United States, located directly beside the first aquatic nature preserve established in Florida: The Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, otherwise referred to as Estero Bay Preserve State Park which is within Estero Bay, Florida.