Broward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population is 1,623,018; this makes it the second most populated county in the state. According to 2007 U.S. Census estimates, its population has increased to 1,759,591 . Its county seat is Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It is also the sixteenth most populous county in the US.
Broward County is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida metropolitan area.
History
Broward County was created in 1915. It was named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909. In 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create Broward County. By the 1960s, Broward County was considered a leader in agriculture products and services within the State of Florida. The massive buildup of the South Florida region since the mid 1970s transformed the region, evidenced by the closure of the last major agriculture center within the county (Waldrep Dairy Farm) in 2003. It was one of the counties at the center of the 2000 U.S. Presidential election recount controversy. In 2002, it began an aggressive campaign of placing surveillance cameras along highways and traffic lights. Critics contend the cameras violate drivers' due process rights and two separate lawsuits have been filed over their use, one in Aventura filed in February, and one in Temple Terrace near Tampa, filed at the end of July.
Points of Interest
Broward boasts some notable attractions. The Museum of Discovery and Science is located in Ft. Lauderdale. The International Swimming Hall of Fame is located near the Atlantic Ocean in Fort Lauderdale. The International Game Fish Association has the Hall of Fame for Sport Fishing in Dania Beach. Flamingo Gardens is a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary. Butterfly World is located in Coconut Creek. Sawgrass Mills, a large shopping mall, is located in Sunrise. Also, the NHL's Florida Panthers play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. There are also multiple entrances to Everglades parks. In Pompano Beach is the Festival Flea Market Mall, America's largest indoor flea market. The African-American Research Library & Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale boasts more than 75,000 books and materials on the experiences of people of African descent in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the United States .
Geography
Physical geography
Broward County is close to sea level in elevation averaging about 6 feet above sea level. It is rather new geologically and located at the eastern edge of the Florida Platform, a carbonate plateau created millions of years ago. Broward County is composed of Oolite limestone while western Broward is composed mostly of Bryozoa. Broward is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,320 square miles (3,418 km²).Approximately two-thirds -- 847 square miles (2,194 km²) -- of the county's area lies in an undeveloped Everglades conservation area. 1,205 square miles (3,122 km²) of the county's area is land and 114 square miles (296 km²) of it is water. The total area is 8.66% water.
Broward approved the construction of Osborne Reef, an artificial reef made of tires off the Fort Lauderdale beach, but it has proven an environmental disaster.
Adjacent Counties
- Palm Beach County, Florida - north
- Miami-Dade County, Florida - south
- Collier County, Florida - west
- Hendry County, Florida - northwest
Demographics
2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile (520/km²). There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile (237/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.57% White (58% were Non-Hispanic White,) 20.54% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.00% from other races, and 3.35% from two or more races. 16.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In relation to ancestry, 9.4% were Italian, 7.4% American, 6.8% German, 6.7% Irish, and 4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. Furthermore, about 5.0% were Jamaican and 4.0% Haitian alone, so 10.6% were generically West Indian.
Notably, Broward was the only county in the nation outside the Northeast where Italian-Americans compose the largest ethnic group.
410,387 residents of Broward County, or 25.3 percent of the total population, were foreign-born (45% of whom were naturalized citizens), of which 60,241 of these were born in Jamaica, 47,445 in Haiti, 32,572 in Cuba, 12,776 in Peru, 9,189 in the United Kingdom, and 9,015 in the Dominican Republic. However, in percentage form, the most common countries of foreign-born residents included Jamaica (15%), Haiti (12%), Cuba (8%), Colombia (8%), Canada (5%), Brazil (4%), and Peru (3%).
There were 654,445 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,691, and the median income for a family was $50,531. Males had a median income of $36,741 versus $28,529 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,170. About 8.7% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2005, Broward County led the nation's metropolitan areas in new AIDS diagnoses, with a reported rate 58.4 new AIDS diagnoses per 100,000 people. County officials think the numbers may stem from a new and successful HIV testing campaign that has resulted in many people being diagnosed with full-blown AIDS at the same time they've been diagnosed with HIV. Ironically, without the implementation of the new testing campaign, the reported numbers of new diagnoses would have probably been lower.
Languages
As of 2000, 71.27% of all residents spoke English as their first language, while 16.33% spoke Spanish, 3.51% French Creole, 1.77% French, 1.13% Portuguese, 0.89% Italian, and 0.56% of the population spoke German as their mother language. In total, 28.72% of the population spoke languages other than English at home.
With the huge influx of immigrants since 2000, these figures have become outdated. However, since so many of them are coming from the Anglophone Caribbean, where English is spoken, the change is not as fast as the rate of immigration would suggest.
2006 Census Report
U.S. Census Bureau 2006 Ethnic/Race Demographics:
- White (non-Hispanic): 48.7%
- Black (non-Hispanic): 25.3%
- Hispanic or Latino of any race: 22.8%
- Some other race: 4.3%
- Asian: 3.0%
- Two or more races: 1.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.4%
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census of 2006, the total population of Broward County had risen to almost 1.8 million people, and increased by 10.1% between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2006. This number is accounted for by an increase to 441,678 (25.3%) in its black population and an increase to 408,335 (22.8%) of its non-black Hispanic population. A significant portion of the black population has resulted from immigration, of whom are mainly Afro-Caribbeans/West Indians. Some Afro-Latinos and Afro-Brazilians might also classify themselves as only black. More black foreigners immigrated to Broward County between 2001 and 2005 than any other county in the United States. Also, 54,001 (3.0%) of Broward County's population is Asian, which is a higher figure than that of most counties in the state.
Educational institutions
Broward County currently has the sixth largest school district in the country and the second largest in the state after Miami-Dade.
- Florida International University
- The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
- Broward College
- Florida Atlantic University
- Nova Southeastern
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