Charlotte County

Charlotte County was established in 1921 from a portion of De Soto County and named for Charlotte Harbor. Charlotte may be a corruption of Carlos or Calos, words associated with the Calusa, the Indian group in southwest Florida at the time of Spanish contact. During the 1970s Charlotte County became one of Florida's fastest growing counties.

The bulk of the population is in the eastern portion of the county near Charlotte Harbor and the Peace River and along major highways. In 1993, 90% of the county's population was in unincorporated areas. The only incorporated area is Punta Gorda, which had a 1993 population of 11,769. Unincorporated Port Charlotte had a population of 41,535 in 1990, nearly double its 1980 population. Rotonda and Englewood grew rapidly during the 1980s. Caliente Springs, a 2,000-acre residential project on Charlotte Harbor, is currently being developed. In 1993, 95% of Charlotte County's population was white and 5% was nonwhite. In 1990, 2.5% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 100% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate for the county was 8.2 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 13.5 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 13.2 per 1,000. In 1993, the leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.


Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 45.1% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 5.4%. In 1990, 75.7% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 13.4% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by Edison Community College (Lee County).


Economy

The per capita income in Charlotte County for 1993 was $18,169 (24th highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $25,746. In 1989, 5.2% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 25.3% of personal income in Charlotte County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Charlotte County were employed in the retail trade, services, and government sectors. Medical and other health services, eating and drinking establishments, and food stores were the leading nongovernmental employers in the county. In 1992, there were 214 farms in Charlotte County, totalling 227,202 acres (51% of land in the county). Cattle as well as nursery products and watermelons are raised in the county. In 1991, 5,407 cords of softwood for pulp were produced. In 1991, 1,481,296 pounds of fish and 258,546 pounds of shellfish were landed in Charlotte County.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $77,200
Median monthly rent 1990: $412
Mobile homes as a % of total housing 1990: 16.1
Housing starts 1992: 1540
Housing starts 1993: 1449

In 1992 the price level index for Charlotte County was 95.61 (26th highest in the state).


Local Government

Charlotte County is a charter county. In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 4.4780, and the total taxable value of property was $5,973,109,419. Taxable sales totalled 920.70 million in 1992 and 986.40 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $17,661 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Charlotte County's revenues totalled $256,984 thousand ($2,223.9 per capita) and its expenditures $225,047 thousand ($1,947.5 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 80.7% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 38.6% were registered Democrat and 54.3% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 39.2% of the votes were cast for Bush, 36.9% for Clinton, and 23.7% for Perot.


Events and Places of Interest

Freeman House, Ponce de Leon Historic Park and Shrine, Punta Gorda; National Police Museum, Port Charlotte.