Gulf County Florida   Located in North West Florida

Gulf County Cities

Land area (rank): 559 square miles (54)
Population 1993 (rank): 12,393 (58)
Population density 1993 (rank): 22 persons per square mile (59)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 7.9% (60)

Physical Characteristics

Gulf County is in northwest Florida on the Gulf coast and is bordered by Bay, Calhoun, Liberty, and Franklin counties. The county has 13 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 53.7 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.7 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 58.36 inches.

History

Gulf County was established in 1925 from a portion of Calhoun County and named for the Gulf of Mexico. Port St. Joe (first called St. Joseph) was one of the first towns established on the Gulf and was the terminus of the Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Canal Railroad, one of the first three steam-engine railroads built in the U.S. In 1838 the first state constitutional convention was held in St. Joseph near present-day Port St. Joe.

Population

In 1993 approximately half of Gulf County's population was in unincorporated areas. Over one-third of the population was in the incorporated city of Port St. Joe (4,071 in 1993). The next most populous incorporated place was Wewahitchka with a 1993 population of 1,806. Vacation homes are found along St. Joseph Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A vacation spot of increasing popularity is Cape San Blas. In 1993, 81% of Gulf County's population was white and 19% was nonwhite. In 1990, 0.7% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 45.6% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate for the county was 13.4 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 10.8 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 0.0 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 67.1% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 1.0%. In 1990, 66.4% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 9.2% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by Gulf Coast Community College (Bay County).

Economy

The per capita income for 1993 in Gulf County was $14,551 (42nd highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $21,866. In 1989, 13.7% of households had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 27.0% of personal income in Gulf County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Gulf County were employed in the manufacturing, government, and retail trade sectors. Paper and allied products firms accounted for the most employment in the manufacturing sector. A major employer in the county is the St. Joseph Telephone and Telegraph Company headquartered in Port St. Joe. In 1992 there were 27 farms in Gulf County, totalling 14,203 acres (4% of land in the county). In 1991, 9,286 thousand board feet of softwood logs and 45,835 cords of softwood for pulp were harvested. In 1991, 6,784,331 pounds of fish and 172,555 pounds of shellfish were landed in Gulf County.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $43,200
Median monthly rent 1990: $193
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 25.2
Housing starts 1992: 66
Housing start 1993: 67

In 1992 the price level index for Gulf County was 92.87 (44th highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 8.1450, and the total taxable value of property was $524,793,535. Taxable sales totalled $44.70 million in 1992 and $37.00 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $1,582 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Gulf County's revenues totalled $9,315 thousand ($804.7 per capita) and its expenditures $11,335 thousand ($979.2 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 90.4% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 91.0% were registered Democrat and 8.3% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 45.3% of the votes were cast for Bush, 33.1% for Clinton, and 21.3% for Perot.

Places of Interest

U.S. Snagboat Montgomery, vicinity of White City.