| Collier County, Florida | |||
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Location in the state of Florida |
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Florida's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | May 8, 1923 | ||
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| Seat | Naples, Florida | ||
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
2,304.93 sq mi (5,970 km²) 2,025.34 sq mi (5,246 km²) 279.59 sq mi (724 km²), 12.13% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
321,520 159/sq mi (61.28/km²) |
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| Website | www.co.collier.fl.us | ||
Collier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839.[1] Its county seat is Naples.[2]
Collier County is coextensive with the Naples-Marco Island, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies. Naples and Marco Island are designated as the MSA's principal cities. The Naples, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area was first defined in 1990. Marco Island was added as a principal city and the name changed to its present form in 2003.
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Collier County was created in 1923 from Lee County. It was named for Barron Collier, a New York City advertising mogul and real estate developer who had moved into Southwest Florida and established himself as a prominent land owner. He agreed to build the Tamiami Trail for what was then Lee County (Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades & Charlotte Counties) in exchange for favorable consideration with the state legislature to have a county named for him. After the county was named, Collier was quoted as saying "When I first came here on holiday with Juliet, I never expected that I would buy a whole region of it, nor did I expect to pay for the new Tamiami Trail, or half the things I've done. But I really didn't expect to have a whole county named after me."
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 2,304.93 square miles (5,969.7 km2), of which 2,025.34 square miles (5,245.6 km2) (or 87.87%) is land and 279.59 square miles (724.1 km2) (or 12.13%) is water.[3] This makes Collier county the second largest county in the state of Florida (Palm Beach County being the largest). Virtually the entire southeastern portion of the county lies within the Big Cypress National Preserve. The northernmost portion of Everglades National Park extends into the southern coastal part of the county.
Collier County is the sole county in the Naples-Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Collier County is located at the southern end of Florida's Gulf Coast, and bounded by:
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 2,883 |
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| 1940 | 5,102 | 77.0% | |
| 1950 | 6,488 | 27.2% | |
| 1960 | 15,753 | 142.8% | |
| 1970 | 38,040 | 141.5% | |
| 1980 | 85,971 | 126.0% | |
| 1990 | 152,099 | 76.9% | |
| 2000 | 251,377 | 65.3% | |
| 2010 | 321,520 | 27.9% | |
| [4][5] | |||
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 251,377 people, 102,973 households, and 71,257 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile (48/km²). There were 144,536 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile (28/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.06% White, 4.54% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.19% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. 19.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 75.3% spoke English, 17.8% Spanish, 2.3% French Creole and 1.2% German as their first language.
As of 2005 68.6% of the population was non-Hispanic whites, 24.4% was Latino or Hispanic, 5.9% was African-American and 0.9% was Asian.[7]
In 2000 there were 102,973 households out of which 22.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the county the population was spread out with 19.90% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 24.60% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 24.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,289, and the median income for a family was $54,816. Males had a median income of $32,639 versus $26,371 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,195. About 6.60% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 4.30% of those age 65 or over. As of 2007 the population of Collier County peaked to 414,611, a record high.[8]
The county's public schools are operated by the District School Board of Collier County.
| Year | Winner | Loser | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Other |
| 2008 | 60.8% | 38.4% | 0.8% |
| 2004 | 65.0% | 34.1% | 0.9% |
| 2000 | 65.6% | 32.5% | 1.9% |
| 1996 | 58.7% | 32.0% | 9.3% |
| 1992 | 53.4% | 26.1% | 20.5% |
| 1988 | 74.9% | 24.6% | 0.5% |
Collier County was featured in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) as the home of fictional athlete Ray Finkle, described in the film as "the only professional athlete to come out of Collier County." Ace visits Collier to find Ray's family.
It was also shown in the Showtime series Dexter at the rest stop meeting between Dexter and the Trinity Killer.
| Lee County | Hendry County | |||
| Gulf of Mexico | Broward County | |||
| Collier County, Florida | ||||
| Monroe County | Miami-Dade County |
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