| Bay 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 | April 24, 1913 | |
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| Seat | Panama City | |
| Largest city | Panama City | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,033.27 sq mi (2,676 km²) 763.68 sq mi (1,978 km²) 269.60 sq mi (698 km²), 26.09% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
168,852 221/sq mi (85.36/km²) |
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| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 | |
| Website | www.co.bay.fl.us | |
Bay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 163,505 [1]. Its county seat is Panama City, Florida.[1] The county is best known for its white sand beaches and crystal blue water, where large pods of dolphins swim year-round. These beaches attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year.
Bay County is coextensive with the Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, one of the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies. The OMB has designed Panama City, Lynn Haven, and Panama City Beach as the metropolitan statistical area's principal cities. The Panama City, Florida Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area was first defined in 1981. Lynn Haven was added as a principal city in 2003. On November 20, 2008, the MSA took on its present name when Panama City Beach was designated a principal city by the Office of Management and Budget.[2]
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On February 12, 1913, representatives from five towns on the St. Andrew’s Bay, met in Panama City to select a name for a proposed new county. The name Bay was selected because it was satisfactory to the majority of the citizens and was descriptive of the territory that would be included. On July 1, 1913, Bay County was created by the Legislature from portions of Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.
It was the site of Gideon vs. Wainwright, which gave all persons accused of a crime the right to an attorney.
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,033.27 square miles (2,676.2 km2), of which 763.68 square miles (1,977.9 km2) (or 73.91%) is land and 269.60 square miles (698.3 km2) (or 26.09%) is water.[3]
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 11,407 |
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| 1930 | 12,091 | 6.0% | |
| 1940 | 20,686 | 71.1% | |
| 1950 | 42,689 | 106.4% | |
| 1960 | 67,131 | 57.3% | |
| 1970 | 75,283 | 12.1% | |
| 1980 | 97,740 | 29.8% | |
| 1990 | 126,994 | 29.9% | |
| 2000 | 148,217 | 16.7% | |
| 2010 | 168,852 | 13.9% | |
| [4][5] | |||
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 148,217 people, 59,597 households, and 40,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75/km²). There were 78,435 housing units at an average density of 103 per square mile (40/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 10.64% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. 2.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 59,597 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,092, and the median income for a family was $42,729. Males had a median income of $30,116 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,700. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 69.7% | 29.1% | 1.2% |
| 2004 | 71.2% | 28.1% | 0.7% |
| 2000 | 65.7% | 32.1% | 2.2% |
| 1996 | 54.9% | 33.0% | 12.1% |
| 1992 | 50.0% | 28.1% | 21.9% |
| 1988 | 72.5% | 26.5% | 1.0% |
Bay District Schools operates public schools serving all portions of the county except for Mexico Beach, which is served by Gulf County Schools.[7][8][9]
| Washington County | Jackson County | |||
| Walton County | Calhoun County | |||
| Bay County, Florida | ||||
| Gulf of Mexico | Gulf County |
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