Osceola County, Florida

Osceola County
	Osceola County, Florida
	County courthouse in Kissimmee
; Flag	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Florida
	; Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded	May 12, 1887
Seat	Kissimmee
Largest city	Kissimmee
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 1,506.35 sq mi (3,901 km²); 1,321.90 sq mi (3,424 km²); 184.45 sq mi (478 km²), 12.24%
PopulationEst.; - (2012); - Density	; 287,416; 203/sq mi (78.47/km²)
Website	http://www.osceola.org/

Osceola County (pron.: /ɒsiˈoʊlə/, o-si-OH-lə) is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 172,493. The U.S. Census Bureau 2010 estimate for the county is 268,685, making it the 17th fastest-growing county in the United States.^[1] Its county seat is Kissimmee.^[2]

History [edit]

Osceola County was created in 1887. It was named for the Indian leader Osceola, whose name means "Black Drink Cry [Asi Yaholo]."

On July 21, 1821, Florida was divided into two counties, named Escambia County to the west and St. John's County to the east. In 1824, the southern part of St. John's County became Mosquito County, with Enterprise as the county seat. When Florida became a state in 1845, Mosquito County was renamed Orange County. In 1844, Brevard County was carved out from Mosquito County. On May 12, 1887, Osceola was named a county, having been created from both Orange and Brevard Counties. Osceola County reached all the way down to Lake Okeechobee until 1917 when Okeechobee County was formed.

Since the late 20th century, Osceola County has experienced a significant influx of immigrants from Puerto Rico,^[3] and in the 2000 U.S. Census Puerto Rican was the largest self-reported ancestry group.^[4]

Government [edit]

Osceola County is a Charter county, and an administrative subdivision of the State of Florida. Voters approved the County Charter in March 1992, and it took effect on October 1, 1992. The structure of County government under the charter does not depart dramatically from the structure of a County government outlined in the Florida Statutes.

Osceola County Government is governed by three sets of elected officials, each of which independently directs separate branches of County Government. These include: the five-member County Commission, five separate Constitutional Officers, and a number of Judicial Officers. Under State law, the County Commission is responsible for funding the budgets of all Osceola County Government, including the independently elected Constitutional Officers and Judicial Officers, as well as the Commission's own departments. Each independent officer has discretion to administer his or her own programs. The County Commission exercises oversight only over its own departments.

Osceola County has five electoral districts each represented by a commissioner. All the commissioners compose the Board of Commissioners that appoint a County Manager. There also is a Commission Auditor and County Attorney.

Legislature [edit]

Board of County Commissioners

District 1 - Michael E. Harford
District 2 - John Quinones
District 3 - Brandon Arrington (Chairman)
District 4 - Frank Attkinsson
District 5 - Fredd Hawkins, Jr.

Executive [edit]

County Manager
- Deputy County Manager
Commission Auditor
County Attorney

Constitutional Officers [edit]

Sheriff - Bob Hansell
Property Appraiser - Katrina Scarborough
Clerk of the Courts - Armando Ramirez
Supervisor of Elections - Mary Jane Arrington
Tax Collector - Patsy Heffner
Public Defender^[5] -
State's Attorney -

Geography [edit]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,506.35 square miles (3,901.4 km²), of which 1,321.90 square miles (3,423.7 km²) (or 87.76%) is land and 184.45 square miles (477.7 km²) (or 12.24%) is water.^[6]

Adjacent Counties [edit]

Demographics [edit]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1890	3,133	—
1900	3,444	9.9%
1910	5,507	59.9%
1920	7,195	30.7%
1930	10,699	48.7%
1940	10,119	−5.4%
1950	11,406	12.7%
1960	19,029	66.8%
1970	25,267	32.8%
1980	49,287	95.1%
1990	107,728	118.6%
2000	172,493	60.1%
2010	268,685	55.8%
Est. 2012	287,416	7.0%
^[7]^[8]^[9]

As of the census^[10] of 2010, there were 268,685 people, and 92,526 households residing in the county. The population density was 203 people per square mile (50/km²). There were 128,170 housing units at an average density of 60 per square mile (21/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 40.0% Non-Hispanic White, 12.8% Non-Hispanic Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 2.5% from two or more races. 43.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, majority of which are Puerto Ricans, who account for 25.0% of the population and are the largest ancestral group in the county.

There were 60,977 households out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were married couples living together, 12.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.10% were non-families. 19.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,214, and the median income for a family was $44,061. Males had a median income of $30,034 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,536. About 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.