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Bay County, Florida | |||
The Bay County Courthouse in March 2008
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Location in the state of Florida | |||
Florida's location in the U.S. | |||
Founded | April 24, 1913 | ||
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Named for | St. Andrews Bay | ||
Seat | Panama City | ||
Largest city | Panama City | ||
Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,033 sq mi (2,675 km²) 758 sq mi (1,963 km²) 275 sq mi (712 km²), 26.6% | ||
Population - (2020) - Density |
175,216 242/sq mi (93/km²) | ||
Congressional district | 2nd | ||
Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 | ||
Website | http://www.co.bay.fl.us/ |
Bay County is a county on the Gulf coast in northwestern Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 175,216. Its county seat is Panama City.[1]
Bay County is included in the Panama City, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History[]
On February 12, 1913, representatives from five towns on St. Andrews Bay met in Panama City to select a name for a proposed new county. The name Bay was selected because it was satisfactory to the majority of the citizens and descriptive of the territory that would be included. On July 1, 1913, the Legislature created Bay County from portions of Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.
Panama City was where Gideon v. Wainwright, a 1963 US Supreme Court decision that gave all persons accused of a crime the right to an attorney paid for by the government, originated.
Geography[]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,467 square miles (3,800 km2), of which 759 square miles (1,970 km2) is land and 708 square miles (1,830 km2) is water.[2]
Adjacent counties[]
- Washington County - north
- Jackson County - northeast
- Calhoun County - east
- Gulf County - southeast
- Walton County - west
National protected area[]
- Apalachicola National Forest (part)
Demographics[]
Historical populations | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1920 | 11,407 | ||
1930 | 12,091 | 6.0% | |
1940 | 20,686 | 71.1% | |
1950 | 42,689 | 106.4% | |
1960 | 67,131 | 57.3% | |
1970 | 75,283 | 12.1% | |
1980 | 97,740 | 29.8% | |
1990 | 126,994 | 29.9% | |
2000 | 148,217 | 16.7% | |
2010 | 168,852 | 13.9% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[3] 1790-1960[4] 1900-1990[5] 1990-2000[6] 2010-2020[7] |
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 148,217 people, 59,597 households, and 40,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75/km2). There were 78,435 housing units at an average density of 103 per square mile (40/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 10.64% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. 2.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 59,597 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,092, and the median income for a family was $42,729. Males had a median income of $30,116 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,700. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.
Government[]
Elected Officials[]
Bay County Government | ||
---|---|---|
Sheriff | Tommy Ford [9] | Republican |
Tax Collector | Chuck Perdue | Republican |
Clerk of the Court | Bill Kinsaul | Republican |
Supervisor of Elections | Mark Anderson | Republican |
Superintendent of Schools | William Husfelt, III | Republican |
Property Appraiser | Dan Sowell | Republican |
Board of Commissioners[]
5 members, elected from districts (zero Democrats, five Republicans)[10]
District | Commissioner | Party | Positions |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tommy Hamm | Republican | Vice Chair of the County Commission |
2 | Robert Carroll | Republican | Chair of the County Commission |
3 | Bill Dozier | Republican | |
4 | Doug Moore | Republican | |
5 | Phillip "Griff" Griffits | Republican |
Politics[]
Voter registration[]
According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans are a majority of the registered voters in Bay County.
Bay County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of August 31, 2017[11] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Political Party | Total Voters | Percentage | |||
style="background-color:#FF3333;" width=10px | | Republican | 60,008 | 52.02% | ||
style="background-color:#3333FF;" width=10px | | Democratic | 30,391 | 26.35% | ||
style="background-color:#ffffcc;" width=10px | | Independent | 24,244 | 21.02% | ||
style="background-color:#ffffcc;" width=10px | | Third Parties | 704 | 0.61% | ||
Total | 115,347 | 100% |
Statewide elections[]
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 66,097 | 70.91% | 25,614 | 27.48% | 1,502 | 1.61% |
2016 | 62,194 | 70.50% | 21,797 | 24.71% | 4,231 | 4.80% |
2012 | 56,876 | 71.01% | 22,051 | 27.53% | 1,174 | 1.47% |
2008 | 56,683 | 69.66% | 23,653 | 29.07% | 1,030 | 1.27% |
2004 | 53,404 | 71.18% | 21,068 | 28.08% | 552 | 0.74% |
2000 | 38,682 | 65.70% | 18,873 | 32.06% | 1,321 | 2.24% |
1996 | 28,365 | 54.87% | 17,068 | 33.02% | 6,261 | 12.11% |
1992 | 22,842 | 49.99% | 12,846 | 28.12% | 10,001 | 21.89% |
1988 | 31,796 | 72.51% | 11,603 | 26.46% | 452 | 1.03% |
1984 | 29,356 | 75.77% | 9,384 | 24.22% | 4 | 0.01% |
1980 | 20,948 | 60.61% | 12,389 | 35.85% | 1,224 | 3.54% |
1976 | 14,208 | 48.19% | 14,858 | 50.39% | 418 | 1.42% |
1972 | 20,245 | 83.80% | 3,914 | 16.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 5,121 | 21.07% | 4,020 | 16.54% | 15,161 | 62.39% |
1964 | 12,849 | 62.09% | 7,846 | 37.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 5,435 | 33.94% | 10,579 | 66.06% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 4,971 | 36.51% | 8,645 | 63.49% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 4,812 | 35.38% | 8,789 | 64.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 928 | 12.69% | 5,168 | 70.68% | 1,216 | 16.63% |
1944 | 1,126 | 15.13% | 6,317 | 84.87% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 684 | 11.72% | 5,153 | 88.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 541 | 14.45% | 3,202 | 85.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
1932 | 429 | 13.75% | 2,692 | 86.25% | 0 | 0.00% |
1928 | 974 | 44.27% | 1,190 | 54.09% | 36 | 1.64% |
1924 | 318 | 25.48% | 838 | 67.15% | 92 | 7.37% |
1920 | 551 | 36.98% | 818 | 54.90% | 121 | 8.12% |
1916 | 279 | 23.64% | 725 | 61.44% | 176 | 14.92% |
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third parties |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | 72.17% 45,709 | 26.46% 16,757 | 1.37% 865 |
2014 | 71.79% 40,956 | 22.77% 12,990 | 5.44% 3,104 |
2010 | 66.39% 36,512 | 28.53% 15,689 | 5.08% 2,796 |
2006 | 65.26% 31,382 | 30.78% 14,802 | 3.96% 1,907 |
2002 | 70.02% 34,107 | 29.27% 14,258 | 0.71% 344 |
1998 | 69.01% 26,759 | 30.99% 12,017 | 0.00% 2 |
1994 | 56.87% 23,498 | 43.12% 17,816 | 0.01% 2 |
Education[]
Bay District Schools operates public schools serving all portions of the county except Mexico Beach, which is served by Gulf County Schools.
Schools in Bay County[]
Pre-K – 12 schools[]
Deane Bozeman School
North Bay Haven Charter Academy
Palm Bay Preparatory Academy
PreK-8 Schools[]
Breakfast Point Academy
Bay Haven Charter Academy
University Academy
High schools[]
- Zoned
J. R. Arnold High School (Panama City Beach)
Bay High School (Panama City)
A. Crawford Mosley High School (Lynn Haven)
Rutherford High School (Springfield)
- Optional
A.D. Harris High School (Panama City)
Haney Technical High School (Panama City)
New Horizons Learning Center (Lynn Haven)
Rosenwald High School (Panama City)
Middle schools[]
Everitt Middle School
Jinks Middle School
Merritt Brown Middle School
Mowat Middle School
Surfside Middle School (Panama City Beach)
Elementary schools[]
Callaway Elementary School
Cedar Grove Elementary School
Hiland Park Elementary School
Hutchison Beach Elementary School (Panama City Beach)
Lucille Moore Elementary School
Lynn Haven Elementary School
M. Cherry Street Elementary School
Millville Elementary School
Northside Elementary School
Oakland Terrace Elementary School
Parker Elementary School
Patronis Elementary School (Panama City Beach)
Patterson Elementary School
Southport Elementary School
Springfield Elementary School
St. Andrew Elementary School
Tommy Smith Elementary School
Tyndall Elementary School
Waller Elementary School
West Bay Elementary School
Public transportation[]
Airports[]
The Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport opened for commercial flights in 2010. It connects the region to several major airports in the South and Midwest.
Public surface transportation[]
The county operates the Baytown Trolley, which runs several routes in and around Panama City. The county also have a greyhound in Panama City.[13]
Library[]
Bay County is part of the Northwest Regional Library System[14] (NWRLS), which also serves Gulf and Liberty Counties. The Bay County Public Library is the headquarters library for the system. The Bay County Board of Commissioners is the system's governing authority and single administrative unit.[15]
Locations:
- Bay County Public Library
- Panama City Beach Public Library
- Parker Public Library
- Springfield Public Library
- Gulf County Public Library
- Charles Whitehead Public Library
- Harrell Memorial Library of Liberty County
- Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library
- Bay County Law Library (at the Bay County Public Library)[16]
Communities[]
Cities[]
- Callaway
- Lynn Haven
- Mexico Beach
- Panama City
- Panama City Beach
- Parker
- Springfield
Census-designated places[]
- Cedar Grove
- Laguna Beach
- Lower Grand Lagoon
- Pretty Bayou
- Tyndall AFB
- Upper Grand Lagoon
Unincorporated communities[]
- Bayou George
- Cedar Grove
- Fountain
- Glenwood
- Millville
- Sand Hills
- Santa Monica
- Southport
- Sunnyside
- Vicksburg
- Youngstown
Former Census-designated places[]
- Hiland Park
See also[]
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bay County, Florida
References[]
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2020: Florida Counties Gazeteer File". United States Census Bureau. 2020. https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_counties_12.txt.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/fl190090.txt.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
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tag; no text was provided for refs namedQF
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov.
- ^ Jackson, Tiffany (7 August 2016). "New era for Bay County: Tommy Ford sworn-in as Sheriff". http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/new-era-for-bay-county-tommy-ford-sworn-in-as-sheriff.
- ^ cysy.com, Cyber Sytes, Inc.. "Page Not Found - Bay County Florida Online". http://www.baycountyfl.gov/Commissioners/.
- ^ "Voter Registration - Current by County - Division of Elections - Florida Department of State". http://dos.myflorida.com/elections/data-statistics/voter-registration-statistics/voter-registration-monthly-reports/voter-registration-current-by-county/.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
- ^ "Archived copy". http://v2.baytowntrolley.org/routes/.
- ^ "Archived copy". http://www.nwrls.com/locations_text.html.
- ^ "Long-Range Plan & Mission". https://nwrls.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NWRLS_Long_Range_Plan.pdf.
- ^ "Bay County Law Library". https://www.baycountyfl.gov/575/Bay-County-Law-Library.
External links[]
Government links/Constitutional offices[]
- Bay County Board of County Commissioners
- Bay County Supervisor of Elections
- Bay County Property Appraiser
- Bay County Sheriff's Office
- Bay County Tax Collector
Special districts[]
- Bay District Schools
- Beach Mosquito Control District
- Northwest Florida Water Management District
- Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District
Judicial branch[]
- Bay County Clerk of Courts
- Circuit and County Court for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties
Tourism links[]
News media[]
Washington County | Jackson County | |||
Walton County | Calhoun County | |||
Bay County, Florida | ||||
Gulf of Mexico | Gulf County |
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Template:North Florida
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