Charlotte County, Florida

Charlotte County, Florida
Seal
Location in the state of Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded	April 23, 1921
Seat	Punta Gorda
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	859.12 sq mi (2,225 km²) 693.60 sq mi (1,796 km²) 165.51 sq mi (429 km²), 19.27%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	159,978 231/sq mi (89.07/km²)
Website	www.charlottecountyfl.com

Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 141,627. In 2005, the population of the MSA was 154,030.^[1]

The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county was 152,814 [2]. Its county seat is Punta Gorda, Florida^[2].

Charlotte County is coextensive with the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used by the Census Bureau and other agencies for statistical purposes. Punta Gorda is designated as the principal city of the MSA. The Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area was first defined in 1993.

History

Charlotte County was established April 23, 1921. It was named for the Bay of Charlotte Harbor. "Charlotte" came from "Carlos" (Spanish), "Charles" (English), or "Calos" (Calusa Indian). In 1565, the Spanish named "Carlos Bay," followed by the English in 1775 who named the area Charlotte Harbor in tribute to the Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III. Punta Gorda is the only incorporated city in Charlotte County.

On August 13, 2004 Charlotte County was devastated when Hurricane Charley came ashore near Port Charlotte as a Category 4 hurricane.

Historic places

Historic places in Charlotte County include the Old Charlotte County Courthouse as well as those on the List of Registered Historic Places in Charlotte County.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 859.12 square miles (2,225.1 km²), of which 693.60 square miles (1,796.4 km²) (or 80.73%) is land and 165.51 square miles (428.7 km²) (or 19.27%) is water.^[3] Charlotte Harbor Estuary is an important natural preserve and one of the most productive in Florida.^{[citation needed]}

Adjacent counties

• Sarasota County, Florida - northwest
• DeSoto County, Florida - north
• Highlands County, Florida - northeast corner
• Glades County, Florida - east
• Hendry County, Florida - southeast corner
• Lee County, Florida - south

National protected area

• Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	4,013		—
1940	3,663		−8.7%
1950	4,286		17.0%
1960	12,594		193.8%
1970	27,559		118.8%
1980	58,460		112.1%
1990	110,975		89.8%
2000	141,627		27.6%
2010	159,978		13.0%
[4][5]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 141,627 people, 63,864 households, and 44,130 families residing in the county. The population density was 204 people per square mile (79/km²). There were 79,758 housing units at an average density of 115 per square mile (44/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.58% White, 4.39% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 3.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 92.3% spoke English, 3.0% Spanish and 1.1% French as their first language.

In 2005 the population was 88.8% non-Hispanic white, 5.3% African-American, 4.2% Latino and 1.1% Asian (source=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12015.html)

There were 63,864 households out of which 17.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.56.

In the county the population was spread out with 15.70% under the age of 18, 4.50% from 18 to 24, 18.80% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 34.70% who are 65 years of age or older (making this the county with the highest percentage of people over 65 in America). The median age is 54 years. For every 100 females there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $389,379, and the median income for a family was $92,653. Males had a median income of $129,309 versus $122,273 for females. The per capita income for the county was $291,806. About 5.30% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.00% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.

According to an October 2001 Census Brief of the 2000 Census, Charlotte County had the highest median age of any U.S. county with a population of more than 100,000 people at 54.3.^[7]

Cities and towns

Incorporated

• Punta Gorda

New city

• Babcock Ranch Florida a proposed solar-powered city.

Unincorporated

Boca Grande Cape Haze Charlotte Harbor Charlotte Park Cleveland Deep Creek Englewood Grove City

Harbour Heights Manasota Key Murdock Placida Port Charlotte Rotonda Solana

Government

The county is governed by a five-person Commission, all of them elected to represent districts within the county for a four year term. The elections are partisan according to political party affiliation and primaries are held months earlier in the event there are numerous candidates. All registered voters in the county are allowed to vote for a favorite candidate Commissioner in the five districts, not just the voters living in a particular district.

The five current Commissioners for Charlotte County, Florida and terms of office expirations:

• Bob Starr (R), District 1, November 6, 2012
• Adam Cummings (R), District 2, November 2, 2010 (not running)
• Robert Skidmore (R) District 3, November 6, 2012
• Richard Loftus (R) District 4, November 2, 2010
• Tricia Duffy (R) District 5, November 6, 2012

Politics

Charlotte County tends to vote Republican in national, state, and local elections.^[8]

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Other
2008	52.9%	45.7%	1.5%
2004	55.7%	42.9%	1.4%
2000	53.0%	44.3%	2.7%
1996	44.2%	43.0%	12.7%
1992	39.2%	36.9%	23.9%
1988	64.0%	35.4%	0.6%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Charlotte County, Florida

References

1. ^ Florida’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas - Population - retrieved July 18, 2006
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
4. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/fl190090.txt
5. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ [1] Last accessed September 29, 2007.
8. ^ Dave Leip's US Presidential Elections. Last accessed November 15, 2006.

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

• Charlotte County Clerk of the Circuit Court
• Charlotte County Government / Board of County Commissioners Main Portal
• Charlotte County Property Appraiser
• Charlotte County Sheriff's Office
• Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections
• Charlotte County Geographic Information System
• Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce
• Charlotte County Fire/EMS

Special Districts

• Charlotte County Public Schools
• South Florida Water Management District
• Southwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

• Charlotte County Clerk of Courts
• Public Defender for the 20th Judicial Circuit serving Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties
• Office of the State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit
• Circuit and County Court for the 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Animal Shelter

• Animal Welfare League of Charlotte County

Coordinates: 26°54′N 81°57′W / 26.90°N 81.95°W / 26.90; -81.95