Okeechobee County, Florida

Okeechobee County
	Okeechobee County, Florida
	The Okeechobee County Judicial Center, in Okeechobee.
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Florida
	; Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded	8 May 1917
Seat	Okeechobee
Largest city	Okeechobee
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 891.57 sq mi (2,309 km²); 773.94 sq mi (2,004 km²); 117.63 sq mi (305 km²), 13.19%
Population; - (2010); - Density	; 39,996; 52/sq mi (19.95/km²)
Website	www.co.okeechobee.fl.us

Okeechobee County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 35,910. According to 2010 U.S. Census estimates, its population had increased 11.3% to 39,996.^[1] The county seat is Okeechobee, Florida^[2]. The county comprises the Okeechobee, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History [edit]

The Okeechobee County Courthouse, constructed in 1926, is located in the County Seat, Okeechobee.

The Old Okeechobee High School, now the Freshman Campus, built 1925

Okeechobee County was incorporated in 1917. It was named for the Lake Okeechobee, which was itself named for Hitchiti words oka (water) and chobi (big).

Historic buildings [edit]

Historic buildings in Okeechobee County include:

Geography [edit]

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 887 square miles (2,300 km²), of which 769 square miles (1,990 km²) is land and 118 square miles (310 km²) is water.^[3]

Adjacent counties [edit]

Indian River County, Florida - northeast
Martin County, Florida - east
St. Lucie County, Florida - east
Palm Beach County, Florida - southeast
Glades County, Florida - southwest
Hendry County, Florida - southwest
Highlands County, Florida - west
Polk County, Florida - northwest
Osceola County, Florida - northwest

Demographics [edit]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	2,132	—
1930	4,129	93.7%
1940	3,000	−27.3%
1950	3,454	15.1%
1960	6,424	86.0%
1970	11,233	74.9%
1980	20,264	80.4%
1990	29,627	46.2%
2000	35,910	21.2%
2010	39,996	11.4%
^[4]^[5]

As of the census^[6] of 2010, there were 39,996 people, 13,857 households, and 9,016 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 15,504 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.9% White, 8.6% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.2% from two or more races. 24.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2005 68.5% of the county population was White non-Hispanic, 21.6% of the population was Latino, 8.0% was African-American and both Native Americans and Asians constituted 0.9% of the population.^[7]

In 2000 there were 12,593 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county in 2000 the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 115.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.20 males.

In 2010 the median income for a household in the county was $36,929, and the median income for a family was $35,163. Males had a median income of $25,574 versus $20,160 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,553. About 11.80% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.90% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.