Bay County, Florida

Infobox U.S. County
county = Bay County
state = Florida

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founded = April 24 1913
seat = Panama City
largest city = Panama City
area_total_sq_mi =1033
area_land_sq_mi =764
area_water_sq_mi =270
area percentage = 26.09%
census yr = 2000
pop = 148217
density_km2 =75
time zone = Central
UTC offset = -6
DST offset= -5
web = www.co.bay.fl.us
|

Bay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 163,505 [http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2005-01-12.xls] . Its county seat is Panama City, FloridaGR|6.

Bay County is best known for its white sand beaches and crystal blue water, where large pods of dolphins swim year-round. These beaches attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year.

History

On February 12, 1913, representatives from five towns on the St. Andrew’s Bay, met in Panama City to select a name for a proposed new county. The name Bay was selected because it was satisfactory to the majority of the citizens and was descriptive of the territory that would be included. On July 1, 1913, Bay County was created by the Legislature from portions of Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.

It was the site of Gideon vs. Wainwright, which gave all persons accused of a crime the right to an attorney.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,033 square miles (2,676 km²), of which, 764 square miles (1,978 km²) of it is land and 270 square miles (698 km²) of it (26.09%) is water.

Bay County is the sole county in the Panama City-Lynn Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Adjacent counties

*Washington County, Florida - north
*Jackson County, Florida - northeast
*Calhoun County, Florida - east
*Gulf County, Florida - southeast
*Walton County, Florida - west

National protected area

* Apalachicola National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 148,217 people, 59,597 households, and 40,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75/km²). There were 78,435 housing units at an average density of 103 per square mile (40/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 10.64% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. 2.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 59,597 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,092, and the median income for a family was $42,729. Males had a median income of $30,116 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,700. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Municipalities

Incorporated

# City of Callaway
# Town of Cedar Grove
# City of Lynn Haven
# City of Mexico Beach
# City of Panama City
# City of Panama City Beach
# City of Parker
# City of Springfield

Unincorporated

Census Designated places

*Hiland Park
*Laguna Beach
*Lower Grand Lagoon
*Pretty Bayou
*Tyndall AFB
*Upper Grand Lagoon

Other unincorporated places

*Bayou George
*Fountain
*Santa Monica
*Southport
*Sunnyside
*Vicksburg
*Youngstown

Politics

Education

Bay District Schools operates public schools serving all portions of the county except for Mexico Beach, which is served by Gulf County Schools. [" [http://www.bay.k12.fl.us/departments/Portals/21/high/HSschoolzones_small.pdf Bay District Schools High School Attendance Zones] ." "Bay District Schools". Accessed October 10, 2008.] [" [http://www.bay.k12.fl.us/departments/Portals/21/middle/MiddleSchools_bpa2.pdf Bay District Schools Middle School Attendance Zones] ." "Bay District Schools". Accessed October 10, 2008.] [" [http://www.bay.k12.fl.us/departments/Portals/21/elementary/ElementarySchools_bpa2.pdf Bay District Schools Elementary School Attendance Zones] ." "Bay District Schools". Accessed October 10, 2008.]

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

* [http://www.co.bay.fl.us/ Bay County Board of County Commissioners]
* [http://www.bayvotes.org/ Bay County Supervisor of Elections]
* [http://www.baypa.net/ Bay County Property Appraiser]
* [http://www.bayso.org/ Bay County Sheriff's Office]
* [http://bctc.elementaldata.com/ Bay County Tax Collector]

pecial districts

* [http://www.bay.k12.fl.us/ Bay District Schools]
* [http://www.pcbeachmosquito.org/ Beach Mosquito Control District]
* [http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/nwfwmd/ Northwest Florida Water Management District]
* [http://www.pcairport.com Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District]

Judicial branch

* [http://www.baycoclerk.com/ Bay County Clerk of Courts]
* [http://www.jud14.flcourts.org/ Circuit and County Court for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida] serving Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties

Tourism links

* [http://www.800pcbeach.com/ Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau]

News Media

* [http://www.newsherald.com/ Panama City News Herald]
* [http://www.talkradio101.com/ WYOO Talk Radio 101]
* [http://www.wmbb.com/ WMBB TV 13]
* [http://www.wjhg.com/ WJHG TV 7]