COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA

'Cocoa Beach' is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,482 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 12,435. [1].

Contents

Government

History

Geography

Surrounding Areas

Climate

Demographics

Economics

Personal Income

Industry

Notable residents

Urban Myth

Sister Cities

Footnotes

See also

External links

Government

History

Cocoa Beach started its current growth during the 1960s due to America's space program. NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center is located approximately 15 miles away.
After manned space flights, the town held parades in honor of the astronauts.
Many of the homes in Cocoa Beach are built on dredged mud and sand from the Banana River. After NASA's Apollo program came to an end, and before the Shuttle program was in full swing, the town suffered from layoffs. Many families lost their jobs or simply moved away. People could not sell their homes and some walked away from them.
Cocoa Beach was the setting for the 1960s sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'', although only one episode was actually filmed there (Jeannie's wedding).
The city is just south of Cape Canaveral on Florida's eastern "Space Coast".

Geography

Cocoa Beach is located at (28.331035, -80.613035).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.0 km² (15.0 mi²). 12.7 km² (4.9 mi²) of it is land and 26.3 km² (10.1 mi²) of it (67.49%) is water. Bordered on the north is Cape Canaveral; on the south is Cresent Beach; on the east is the Atlantic Ocean; on the west is the Banana River.
Propelled by a powerful hurricane, the ocean pushed its way through the barrier islands centuries ago and formed the Thousand Islands in the Indian River.^[1][2]

Surrounding Areas

★ 'Merritt Island;Angel City '

★ 'Atlantic Ocean '

★ 'Cape Canaveral '

★ 'Crescent Beach '

Climate

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Rec High °F	89	92	93	97	97	101	102	101	98	96	91	89
Norm High °F	72	73	77	81	85	89	91	90	88	83	78	73
Norm Low °F	50	51	55	60	66	71	72	73	72	67	60	53
Rec Low °F	17	27	25	35	47	55	60	60	58	41	30	21
Precip (in)	2.48	2.49	2.92	2.08	3.94	5.83	5.38	5.78	7.20	4.76	3.12	2.31
''Source: The Weather Channel [2]''

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,482 people, 6,529 households, and 3,532 families residing in the city. The population density was 985.5/km² (2,552.1/mi²). There were 8,709 housing units at an average density of 687.6/km² (1,780.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.64% White, 0.62% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.52% of the population.

There were 6,529 households out of which 12.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.47.
In the city the population was spread out with 12.2% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 34.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

Economics

Personal Income

The median income for a household in the city was $42,372, and the median income for a family was $51,795. Males had a median income of $39,418 versus $27,113 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,968. About 3.7% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
Cocoa Beach is a retirement area, with the average age being 54. [3]

Industry

Ron Jon's, a surf shop, receives 2 million visitors a year.^[3]

Notable residents

★ Allen Neuharth - CEO of Gannett and columnist. Founder of USA Today

★ Kelly Slater, surfer

★ Melissa Witek, Miss Florida USA 2005 and contestant on NBC's Treasure Hunters

Urban Myth

A porn star with the stage name of Chasey Lain has publicized that she grew up in Cocoa Beach. Her biography indicates that she was born and raised in Newport, North Carolina. This persistent urban myth has been picked up by other sites including non-English versions of Wikipedia.^[4]

Sister Cities

★ Kyustendil, Bulgaria

Footnotes

1. Paddle a watery wilderness, Kridler, Chris, , , Florida Today, April 20, 2007,
2. The Thousand Islands are really but "a few hundred,ibid"
3. http://www.travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/port-canaveral-florida-radisson-resort.html
4. http://www.allfansites.com/actresses/Chasey%20Lain/gallery1.html

See also

★ Harbor Cay Condominium, which collapsed while under construction in 1981

★ I Dream of Jeannie

External links

★ City of Cocoa Beach

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