U.S. Route 441 runs just south of Silver Lake, leading west 5 miles (8 km) to the center of Leesburg and east the same distance to Tavares, the Lake county seat.

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,882 people, 810 households, and 563 families residing in the CDP.

There were 872 housing units at an average density of 356.1 per square mile (137.5/km2).

The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.91% White, 3.88% African American, 0.11% Native American, 3.40% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races.

24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.