CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FLORIDA

'Charlotte County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 141,627. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 158,438 [1]. Its county seat is Punta Gorda, Florida⁶. Charlotte County is the sole county in the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

History

Geography

Adjacent Counties

Demographics

Cities and towns

Incorporated

Unincorporated

Politics

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Special Districts

Judicial branch

Media

History

Charlotte County was established April 23, 1921. It was named for the Bay of Charlotte Harbor. "Charlotte" came from "Carlos" (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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,225 km² (859 mi²). 1,796 km² (694 mi²) of it is land and 429 km² (166 mi²) of it (19.27%) is water. Charlotte Harbor Estuary is an important natual preserve and one of the most productive in Florida.

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

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 141,627 people, 63,864 households, and 44,130 families residing in the county. The population density was 79/km² (204/mi²). There were 79,758 housing units at an average density of 44/km² (115/mi²). 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 Florida). 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 $36,379, and the median income for a family was $42,653. Males had a median income of $30,309 versus $22,273 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,806. 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.

Cities and towns

Incorporated

★ Punta Gorda

Unincorporated

★ Boca Grande ★ Charlotte Harbor ★ Charlotte Park ★ Cleveland ★ Englewood ★ Grove City

★ Harbour Heights ★ Manasota Key ★ Port Charlotte ★ Rotonda ★ Solana

Politics

Charlotte County tends to vote Republican in national, state, and local elections.^[1]

'Presidential elections results'

Year	Republican	Democratic	Other
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%

References

1. 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

Media

★ WZZS-FM (106.9 The Bull)

★ WZSP-FM (105.3 La Zeta)