Paper Towns takes place in present-day Florida. More specifically, the majority of the book is set in a massive subdivision called Jefferson Park. Jefferson Park is a fictional subdivision, but the book places this fictional subdivision in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida. The setting eventually transitions to the state of New York. Quentin, Radar, Ben, and Lacey skip their high school graduation in order to drive to Agloe, New York. They hope to find their friend Margo there. Agloe is also a fictitious location; however, it is even more fictitious than Jefferson Park because Agloe only exists on maps created by the Esso company. It was an intentional copyright trap that they put on their maps. It is quite literally a "paper town." The group does find Margo, and she is none too happy that they have found her.

Agloe, New York, is a fictitious village created by the Esso company in the early 1930s and inserted into tourist maps as a copyright trap, or paper town.

The story is set mainly in modern-day Orlando, Florida, though Quentin does travel outside of that area. This setting is crucial to the story.

Consider the first section of the book, when Margo whisks Quentin off on their night of adventures. They visit specific stores that central Florida is known for, like Publix, as well as even more recognizable places, like Sea World. The downtown area of Orlando that Quentin describes as abandoned at night contrasts meaningfully with Margo's dreams of the vibrant New York, and the touristy nonsense that peppers International Drive plays a role in both Quentin's and Margo's sense of disillusionment with the world. Quentin's "pseudovisions" (subdivisions that were planned but never built) play a central role in the plot, also, and of course these are a real feature of modern-day Orlando.

Consider the weather imposed by the central Floridian setting, also: Quentin deals with constant humidity, intermittent rain, and predictable heat, all of which add to the tension he feels as he struggles on his search for Margo.

Margo and Quentin's immediate neighborhood, too, plays a role in the story: we know that they belong to a pleasant, safe, middle-class community, which makes their discovery of the man who committed suicide in the park all the more startling.