Glades County Florida   Located in South Florida

Glades County Cities

Land area (rank): 763 square miles (28)
Population 1993 (rank): 8,269 (65)
Population density 1993 (rank): 11 persons per square mile (65)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 26.7% (65)

Physical Characteristics

Glades County is in southwest Florida and is bordered by Highlands, Charlotte, Hendry, and Okeechobee counties. The county has 223 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 64.0 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.2 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 49.95 inches.

History

Glades County was established from De Soto County in 1921 and named for the Everglades.

Population

Glades County is among the most sparsely populated counties in Florida. Much of the land in Glades County is wetlands and wildlife management or refuge areas. Moore Haven, the only incorporated area in the county, had a 1993 population of 1,538. The unincorporated area of Buckhead Ridge had a population of 1,279 in 1990. In 1990 the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation encompassed 35,805 acres and had a population of 524. In 1993, 83% of Glades County's population was white and 17% was nonwhite. In 1990, 8.0% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 94.8% was the result of net migration. The 1992 birth rate for the county was 11.6 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 9.1 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 10.7 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and chronic obstructive lung disease.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 78.0% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 5.4%. In 1990, 57.4% of persons in the county were high school graduates and 7.1% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by Edison Community College (Lee County).

Economy

The per capita income in Glades County in 1993 was $10,085 (66th highest in the state). The median household income in 1987 was $20,687. In 1989, 9.7% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 20.4% of the personal income in Glades County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Glades County were employed in the government, services, and retail trade sectors. In 1992 there were 206 farms in Glades County, totalling 369,965 acres ( 76% of land in the county). Glades County is the second leading producer of sugarcane in the state after Hendry County. Sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, squash, and tomatoes are also grown and cattle produced in Glades County. In 1991, 2,837 cords of softwood for pulp were harvested. The greatest number of persons in the retail trade sector are employed by eating and drinking establishments.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $57,200
Median monthly rent 1990: $255
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 58.2
Housing starts 1992: 31
Housing starts 1993: 28

In 1992 the price level index for Glades County was 98.65 (13th highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 10.000, and the total taxable value of property was $323,515,621. Taxable sales totalled $20.90 million in 1992 and $14.30 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $1,223 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Glades County's revenues totalled $9,308 thousand ($1,175.0 per capita) and its expenditures $9,632 thousand ($1,215.8 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 81.1% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 80.3% were registered Democrat and 17.1% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 38.7% of the votes were cast for Clinton, 35.1% for Bush, and 26.0% for Perot.

Events and Places of Interest

Chalo Nitka Festival, Moore Haven, March; Gatorland and Cypress Knee Museum, Palmdale.