Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the second largest county in the state of Florida in area, after Miami-Dade County. As of 2008, the rapidly-growing county's estimated population was 1,294,654, making it the third most populous in the state and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States. Over 40 percent of the county's population lives in unincorporated areas near the Atlantic coast.Palm Beach County is one of three counties comprising the South Florida metropolitan area, and having been formed in 1909, is the area's second oldest. Its largest city and county seat is West Palm Beach (Central County), which has an incorporated population of over 105,000 and an unincorporated population of 250,000. Boca Raton (South County), is the second largest, having a population approaching 90,000. Boynton Beach (South County), is the third largest city, with a population nearing 70,000 residents.With wealthy coastal towns such as Palm Beach, Jupiter, Manalapan, and Boca Raton within its limits, as well as equestrian mecca Wellington and golfing haven Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach County is Florida's wealthiest county, with a per capita personal income of $44,518 as of 2004.
History
Among the first residents in Palm Beach County were African Americans and many of whom were former slaves or immediate descendants of formers slaves who had escaped to the State of Florida from slave plantations located in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Runaway African slaves started coming to what was then named Spanish Florida in the late 17th century and they found refuge among the Seminole Native Americans.Henry Flagler, who made his home in Palm Beach, was instrumental in the county's development in the early 20th century with the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway through the county from Jacksonville to Key West.Palm Beach County was created in 1909. It was named for its first settled community, Palm Beach, in turn named for the palm trees and beaches in the area. The County was carved out of what was then the northern portion of Dade County, comprising part of the areas now occupied by Okeechobee and Broward counties, part of Martin and all of Palm Beach county, initially including all of Lake Okeechobee. The southernmost part of Palm Beach County was separated to create the northern portion of Broward County in 1915, the northwestern portion became part of Okeechobee County 1917 and southern Martin County was created from northernmost Palm Beach County in 1925. About three-quarters of Lake Okeechobee was removed from Palm Beach County in 1963 and divided up among Glades, Hendry, Martin and Okeechobee counties.The African American population provided significant labor for the building of the county, its hotels, houses and Flagler's railroad.Palm Beach County was among the last school districts in the nation to integrate, in 1971.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,386 square miles (6,181 km²).1,974 square miles (5,113 km²) of it is land (making it the second-largest Florida county by land area, after Collier County) and 412 square miles (1,068 km²) of it is water, much of it in the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Okeechobee. The total area, which is the largest in Florida, is 17.27% water.The boundaries of area code 561 exactly match the county's. Originally, it was part of area code 305, and later area code 407.
Major highways
Interstate 95
U.S. Highway 441
U.S. Highway 98
U.S. Highway 1
Adjacent counties
Martin County,Florida- north
Broward County,Florida- south
Hendry County,Florida- west
Okeechobee County,Florida- northwest
Glades County,Florida- northwest
National protected area
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,131,184 people, 474,175 households, and 303,946 families residing in the county. The population density was 573 people per square mile (221/km²). Approximately 41% of Palm Beach County's population resides in unincorporated areas within the county. There were 556,428 housing units at an average density of 282 per square mile (109/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.05% White (70.6% were Non-Hispanic White,) 13.80% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.51% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.98% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. 12.44% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. In relation to ancestry (excluding the various Hispanic and Latino ancestries), 10% were Italian, 9% German, 8% Irish, 8% American, 6% English, 4% Russian, and 4% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.196,852 of Palm Beach County residents, or 17.4% percent of the total population, were foreign-born (43% of whom were naturalized U.S. citizens). The most common countries of foreign-born residents included Haiti (14%), Cuba (10%), Mexico (9%), Jamaica (6%), Canada (5%), Colombia (5%), and the United Kingdom (3%).There were 474,175 households out of which 24.90% reported children under the living in the household, 50.80% were married couples living together without children, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-related individuals. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.89.Age ranges found in the county were 21.30% under the , 6.60% aged 18 to 24, 27.00% aged 25 to 44, 22.00% aged 45 to 64, and 23.20% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. Overall, the female to male ratio was 100:93. The female to male ratio for those over the was 100:91.The median household income was $45,062, and the median income for a family was $53,701. Males had a median income of $36,931 versus $28,674 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,801. About 6.90% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.30% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.
2008 Census Report
U.S. Census Bureau 2008 Ethnic/Race Demographics:White (non-Hispanic): 63.3%
Hispanic or Latinoof any race: 17.8%
Black (non-Hispanic): 16.5%
Some other race: 7.4%
Asian: 2.2%
Two or more races: 1.2%
American IndianandAlaska Native: 0.6%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
The median price of an existing home in Palm Beach County as of September, 2006 is $380,900.
Languages
As of 2000, 78.36% of all residents spoke English as a primary language, while 11.89% spoke Spanish, 2.81% French Creole, 1.12% French, 0.76% Italian, 0.68% German, and 0.52% of the population spoke Yiddish. In total, 78.36% spoke English as a primary language, while 21.64% spoke languages other than English.
Politics
Palm Beach County has trended heavily towards Democrats in recent presidential elections. It was the center of a worldwide media storm in 2000, when it was ground zero for the recount in the controversial election between eventual winner George W. Bush over Al Gore. A major source of controversy was the butterfly ballot used in Palm Beach County, which prompted many voters to later claim that they mistakenly voted for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore because of the design of the ballot. In the end, Gore carried the county, but Bush captured the state by just 537 votes (out of nearly 5 million cast, a difference of .009%) after the recount was halted by the US Supreme Court. (Bush vs. Gore)
Borders
Palm Beach County borders Martin County to the North, the Atlantic Ocean to the East, Broward County to the South, Hendry County to the West, and extends into Lake Okeechobee in the Northwest, where it borders Okeechobee County and Glades County at one point in the center of the lake.
Incorporated
The county has 38 municipalities in total. The municipalities are numbered corresponding to the attached image.
Unincorporated census-designated places
Belle Glade Camp(l)
Boca Del Mar(c)
Boca Pointe(a)
Canal Point(bb)
Century Village(u)
Cypress Lakes(w)
Dunes Road(cc)
Fremd Village-Padgett Island(aa)
Golden Lakes(r)
Gun Club Estates(m)
Hamptons at Boca Raton(e)
High Point(i)
Juno Ridge(z)
Kings Point(g)
Lake Belvedere Estates(o)
Lake Harbor(p)
Lake Worth Corridor(k)
Lakeside Green(x)
Limestone Creek(y)
Mission Bay(d)
Plantation Mobile Home Park(s)
Royal Palm Estates(n)
Sandalfoot Cove(b)
Schall Circle(v)
Seminole Manor(j)
Stacey Street(q)
Villages of Oriole(h)
Westgate-Belvedere Homes(t)
Whisper Walk(f)
Primary and secondary schools
All of Palm Beach County is served by the School District of Palm Beach County. As of 2006, it was the 4th largest school district in Florida and the 11th largest school district in the United States. As of August, 2006, the district operated 164 schools, including 25 high schools, and, as of July 22, 2006 had an additional 33 charter schools, with seven more scheduled to open in August, 2006. Newsweek listed three Palm Beach County high schools in the top 50 schools in the list 1200 Top U.S. Schools - Atlantic Community High School, Suncoast High School and the Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts, all public magnet schools.
Colleges/Universities
Florida Atlantic University
Lynn University
Northwood University
Nova Southeastern University
Palm Beach Atlantic University
Palm Beach State College
Public libraries
Palm Beach County Library System operates public libraries.
Sports
The Palm Beach Imperials are an American Basketball Association 2006 expansion franchise.The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Single-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins and the Palm Beach Cardinals are a Single High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams play their games at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.Currently, the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins conduct their spring training at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.Prior to the construction of Roger Dean Stadium, the Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves held their spring training at Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach. The West Palm Beach Expos, a Single-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos, also played their games there.
Annual events of interest
South Florida Fair
Places of interest
American Orchid Society Visitors Center and Botanical Garden
Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Lion Country Safari
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, including theRoji-en Japanese Gardens
Mounts Botanical Garden
Norton Museum of Art
Palm Beach Maritime Museum
Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park
South Florida Science Museum
Media
Palm Beach Post
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
WPEC-TV 12 News
Palm Beach Daily News
Boca Raton News - Local Newspaper
Broward-Palm Beach New Times] - An alternative weekly.
Government links/Constitutional offices
^http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/system/files/2008_Estimates_Table01.pdf
^Twenty most populous counties in America
^'Florida Fun Facts Q&A'.The Palm Beach Post.http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/state/funanswers.html. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
^Palm Beach County - County history- Accessed August 14, 2009
^'American FactFinder'.United States Census Bureau.http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^'Demographics of Palm Beach County, FL'. MuniNetGuide.com.http://www.muninetguide.com/states/florida/Palm_Beach.php. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
^abc'Palm Beach County, FL Detailed Profile'. city-data.com.http://www.city-data.com/county/Palm_Beach_County-FL.html. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
^2008 Palm Beach County Demographics
^2006-2008 Demographics of Some Other Race
^'Home sales continue plunge'. 2006-11-21.http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/11/21/m1a_housing_1121.html. Retrieved 2006-12-05. [dead link]
^'MLA Data Center Results for Palm Beach County, Florida'.Modern Language Association.http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=12&county_id=99&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
^School District of Palm Beach County 'Just the Facts' 2006-2007- retrieved August 11, 2006ArchivedSeptember 23, 2006 at theWayback Machine.
^The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools- retrieved December 9, 2006ArchivedDecember 5, 2006 at theWayback Machine.
^Palm Beach Post
^South Florida Sun-Sentinel
^WPEC-TV 12 News
^Palm Beach Daily News
^Boca Raton News - Local Newspaper
^Broward-Palm Beach New Times
Palm Beach County Government / Board of County Commissionersofficial website
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections
Palm Beach County Property Appraiser
Palm Beach County Tax Collector
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County
Special districts
Palm Beach County School District
South Florida Water Management
Emergency services
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue
Judicial branch
Palm Beach County Public Defender
Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, 15th Judicial Circuit
15th Judicial Circuit of Florida