Hardee County, Florida

Hardee County
	Hardee County, Florida
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Florida
	; Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded	23 April 1921
Seat	Wauchula
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 638.33 sq mi (1,653 km²); 637.30 sq mi (1,651 km²); 1.03 sq mi (3 km²), 0.16%
Population; - (2010); - Density	; 27,731; 43/sq mi (16.79/km²)
Website	www.hardeecounty.net

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Hardee County Courthouse

Hardee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 26,938. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 28,286 [1]. Its county seat is Wauchula, Florida^[1]. The county comprises the Wauchula, Florida, Micropolitan Statistical Area.

[edit] History

It was named for Cary A. Hardee, Governor of Florida from 1921 to 1925. Hardee County was created in 1921.

On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley went directly through Hardee County. Maximum sustained winds in downtown Wauchula were clocked at 149 mph (240 km/h) with higher gusts. Most buildings in the county sustained damage, and many were totally destroyed.

Photos of Damage from FloridaDisaster.org

[edit] Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 638.33 square miles (1,653.3 km²), of which 637.30 square miles (1,650.6 km²) (or 99.84%) is land and 1.03 square miles (2.7 km²) (or 0.16%) is water.^[2]

[edit] Adjacent counties

Polk County, Florida - north
Highlands County, Florida - east
DeSoto County, Florida - south
Manatee County, Florida - west
Hillsborough County, Florida - northwest

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1930	10,348	—
1940	10,158	−1.8%
1950	10,073	−0.8%
1960	12,370	22.8%
1970	14,889	20.4%
1980	19,379	30.2%
1990	19,499	0.6%
2000	26,938	38.2%
2010	27,731	2.9%
^[3]^[4]

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 26,938 people, 8,166 households, and 6,255 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 9,820 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.66% White, 8.33% Black or African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 17.99% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races. 35.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

According to 2005 Census Estimates the county's population was 50.6% non-Hispanic white, 39.8% Latino, 9.0% African-American and 1.3% Native American. (source=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12049.html)

In 2000 there were 8,166 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.40% were non-families. 18.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.40.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 19.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 119.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,183, and the median income for a family was $32,487. Males had a median income of $23,793 versus $18,823 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,445. About 17.00% of families and 24.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.20% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.