Weston, Florida

Weston is a suburb of South Florida located in Broward County, Florida, USA. Established as a city in 1996, much of the community was developed by Arvida/JMB Realty and is located near the western developmental boundary of Broward County. It is the most western city in Broward County, and its entire west side is next to the Everglades. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 65,333. Weston is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census.

An 8,000-year-old paleo-Indian and Tequesta Indian burial mound is located in the city.^[4]

In 2010, Money Magazine ranked Weston 19th in America in the "Biggest Earners" category, with a median family income of $119,689.^[5] In 2006, it was ranked as the city with the largest job growth in Florida and 18th largest in the nation.^[6] BusinessWeek ranked Weston as one of the "best affordable suburbs" in the United States in November 2006.^[7][8] Due to it being a fully planned community, local realtors often state that "everything is located exactly where it should be".

Weston consistently ranks high annually in CNN Money Magazine's "Biggest Earners" category. In 2008, "Money Magazine" ranked Weston as the 73rd best place to live in America, making it the best place to live in the state of Florida.^[9]

Education

Weston is home to top-rated schools and is home to Cypress Bay High School, one of the largest schools in the nation. The schools in Weston are "A" schools by the Florida education system.

Climate

South Florida winters are usually dry and warm during La Niña conditions, while El Niño conditions usually bring cool and wet conditions to our region. ENSO (El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation)^[10] effects on South Florida are rather minimal during the summer months, with the exception of tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin. ^[11]

Geography

Weston is located at 26°6'27" north, 80°23'17" west (26.107534, -80.388151)^[12], at the western edge of development in Broward County. It is bordered by:

On its northeast: Sunrise
On its east: Davie
On its south: Southwest Ranches

According to the United States Census Bureau the city has a total area of 26.28 square miles (68.1 km²), of which 23.76 square miles (62 km²) is land and 2.52 square miles (7 km²) is water. The total area is 9.59% water.

Demographics

As of April 2005 there are 61,042 people in the city. The population density is 2,074.2 per square mile (800.9/km²). There are 18,943 housing units at an average density of 797.2 per square mile (307.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 87.83% White (61.8% being Non-Hispanic White,)^[13] 3.72% African American, 0.12% Native American, 3.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.93% from other races and 2.23% from two or more races. 30.19% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 16,576 households out of which 51.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% are married couples living together, 9.0% have a female householder with no husband present and 17.6% are non-families. 13.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.97 and the average family size is 3.29.

In the city the population is spread out with 32.4% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64 and 6.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over there are 90.2 males.

According to a 2008 estimate, the median income for a household in the city is $95,454 and the median income for a family is $105,265.^[14] Males have a median income of $63,135 versus $38,119 for females. The per capita income for the city is $42,258.^[15] 2.3% of the population and is below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 0.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.^[16]

As of 2000, English was spoken as a first language by 62.54% of the residents and Spanish speakers comprised 31.40% of the population, Portuguese speakers comprised 1.29% of the population. Other languages spoken included French at 0.82%, Korean at 0.49%, and Chinese as a mother tongue of 0.47% of all residents.^[17]

As of 2000, Weston had the highest number and second highest percentage of Venezuelans, at 4.1% of the city's residents ^[18] and the fourteenth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 6.19% of the city's population.^[19], </ref> and had the forty-seventh highest percentage of Peruvians in the US, with 1.19% of the population (tied with Orange, New Jersey.)^[20], Puerto Ricans make up 4.1%.^[21]

Currently 43% of Weston is of hispanic origin.^[22]

Education

Public elementary schools

• Country Isles Elementary School
• Eagle Point Elementary School
• Everglades Elementary School
• Gator Run Elementary School
• Indian Trace Elementary School
• Manatee Bay Elementary School

Public middle schools

• Falcon Cove Middle School
• Tequesta Trace Middle School

Public high schools

• Cypress Bay High School

Private schools

• Sagemont School

Institutions of higher learning

• American InterContinental University South Florida Campus is located in Weston.
• Broward College has a small campus on the second floor of the Weston Library.

Charter schools

• Imagine Charter School at Weston

Parks

There are many parks located in Weston.

Weston Regional Park

The YMCA of Weston is there along with the swimming pool, baseball fields, hockey rinks, basketball courts, soccer fields, playgrounds, and hiking trails.

Vista Park

Vista Park is located next to Cypress Bay High School and Falcon Cove Middle School.

Tequesta Trace Park

Tequesta Trace Park has baseball fields, football fields, one hockey rink, a main football field with a track, followed with a trail.

Notable residents

• Will Allen, professional football player for the Miami Dolphins
• José Canseco, former professional baseball player
• Bartolo Colón, professional baseball player for the New York Yankees
• Jeff Conine, retired baseball player who played for the Florida Marlins
• Angelo Dundee, professional boxing trainer/corner man who trained Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali
• Andre Goodman, professional football player for the Denver Broncos
• Dudley Hart, professional golfer
• Brandon Jackson, professional football player for the Cleveland Browns
• Eddie Jones, former professional NBA player
• Bernie Kosar, former professional quarterback for Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, college quarterback for University of Miami Hurricanes
• Al Leiter, former Major League Baseball player with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Florida Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays
• Sugar Ray Leonard, boxer
• Dan Marino, All-time great NFL Hall of Fame quarterback for the Miami Dolphins
• Randy McMichael, professional football player for the San Diego Chargers
• Roberto Moreno, Brazilian racecar driver ace for Formula One, IRL and Champcars
• John Offerdahl, former professional football player for the Miami Dolphins
• Bárbara Palacios, Miss Universe 1986
• Carlos Pena, Jr., television actor (Big Time Rush) and singer
• Joey Porter, professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals
• Pretty Ricky, hip hop group
• Hanley Ramirez, professional baseball player (Florida Marlins shortstop)
• Kamal Salim, Judo Grand Master, 3rd dan black belt in Judo, 4 times Venezuelan Judo National Champion
• Manny Ramirez, former professional baseball player
• Rodney Rogers, former professional NBA player for 13 seasons Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz, US Representative
• Jason Taylor professional football player for the Miami Dolphins

References

External links

• City of Weston official site
• Weston Photo Blog
• Weston Florida Community Information Guide