Collier County, Florida

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Collier County's main administration building, left, and the back end of the county courthouse, right.

Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, its population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its county seat is East Naples,<ref name="GR6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> where the county offices were moved from Everglades City in 1962. Collier County comprises the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which, along with the Cape Coral-Fort Myers (Lee County) MSA and the Clewiston (Hendry County, Glades County) Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), is included in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples Combined Statistical Area (CSA).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

Archaeology at Platt Island in the Big Cypress National Preserve shows humans settled in what is now Collier County more than 2000 years ago.<ref name=Widmer>Template:Cite book</ref> The Calusa people had an extensive presence in the area when Europeans arrived.

File:Ted Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island.jpg

Ted Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island

The county was created in 1923 from Lee County. It was named for Barron Collier, a New York City advertising mogul and real estate developer who had moved to Southwest Florida and established himself as a prominent landowner. He agreed to build the Tamiami Trail for what was then Lee County (comprising today's Collier, Hendry, and Lee Counties) in exchange for favorable consideration with the state legislature to have a county named for him. After Collier County was named, Collier was quoted as saying: "When I first came here on holiday with Juliet, I never expected that I would buy a whole region of it, nor did I expect to pay for the new Tamiami Trail, or half the things I've done. But I really didn't expect to have a whole county named after me."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

GeographyEdit

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (13.3%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is the largest county in Florida by land area and fourth-largest by total area. Virtually the entire southeastern portion of the county lies within the Big Cypress National Preserve. The northernmost portion of Everglades National Park extends into the southern coastal part of the county. Chokoloskee, Florida is in the county. The total area of this county is nearly one and a half times the size of Rhode Island, which is the smallest state, and is bigger than Rhode Island and Luxembourg combined.

Adjacent countiesEdit

Collier County is located at the southern end of Florida's Gulf Coast, and bounded by:

Hendry County – north
Broward County – east
Miami-Dade County – southeast
Monroe County – south
Lee County – northwest

National protected areasEdit

TransportationEdit

Everglades Airpark
Immokalee Airport
Marco Island Airport
Naples Municipal Airport
Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport (mostly unused)

Major highwaysEdit

DemographicsEdit

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2000 censusEdit

As of the census<ref name="GR8">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of 2000, 251,377 people, 102,973 households, and 71,257 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 144,536 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert.

Template:As of, its racial makeup was 86.06% White, 4.54% was African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 6.25% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) accounted for 19.61%. Primary languages spoken were 75.3% English, 17.8% Spanish, 2.3% French Creole, and 1.2% German.

In 2000, of the 102,973 households, 22.7% had children under 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were not families. About 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 2.79.

The county's population distribution was 19.9% under 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44.1 years, higher that the U.S. average. For every 100 females, there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,289, and for a family was $54,816. Males had a median income of $32,639 versus $26,371 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,195. About 6.6% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

2010 censusEdit

The county continues to experience significant growth and is becoming increasingly diverse. As of the 2010 census, the county's population had increased by 27.9% to 321,520, over the 2000 census. As of the 2010 census, 83.85% of the population was non-Hispanic Whites, 25.9% was Latino or Hispanic, 6.6% was African American, and 1.1% was Asian.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of the 2010 census, the greatest source of population growth in the county since the 2000 census came from the Latino or Hispanic population, which grew from 49,296 (19.6%) to 83,177 (25.9% ). In terms of ancestry, 37.9% were English, 9.9% were Irish, 9.1% were "American", 3.2% were Italian and 3.1% were German.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2020 censusEdit

citation
CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Race	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White (NH)	211,156	235,455	65.67%	62.66%
Black or African American (NH)	19,898	22,554	6.19%	6.0%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	609	551	0.19%	0.15%
Asian (NH)	3,390	5,419	1.05%	1.44%
Some other race (NH)	431	1,502	0.15%	0.42%
Mixed/multiracial (NH)	2,787	7,961	0.87%	2.12%
Hispanic or Latino	83,177	102,249	25.87%	27.21%
Total	321,520	375,752

File:2023 Racial Demograohics in Collier County by Census Tract.svg

A map of racial demographics in Collier County, Florida by Census tract.Template:Collapsible list

As of the 2020 United States census, 375,752 people, 140,578 households, and 97,279 families resided in the county.

EducationEdit

The county's public schools are operated by the District School Board of Collier County.

Public libraryEdit

The Collier County Public Library system consists of 10 locations serving the entire county. All locations offer public internet stations, printing, photocopying, free Wi-Fi, and 24/7 drop boxes for book and video returns.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PoliticsEdit

Voter registrationEdit

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans comprise a majority of registered voters in Collier County. It is also one of the handful of counties where independents outnumber Democrats among registrants. The county is part of a long-established Republican stronghold in southwestern coastal Florida; the last Democrat to win the county was Adlai Stevenson II in 1952.<ref>Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016</ref> The last Democratic governor to carry the county was Reubin Askew in 1974 and the last Democratic senator to do so was Bob Graham in 1992; six years later, the county was one of four to back the then-Republican candidate, Charlie Crist.

All voter information is Template:As of, and provided by Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office.<ref name="votes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Pie chart

Statewide electionsEdit

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Gubernatorial Election Results
Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2022	71.74% 117,477	27.98% 45,815	0.29% 467
2018	64.52% 100,303	34.48% 53,594	1.00% 1,556
2014	66.31% 75,337	31.05% 35,281	2.64% 3,002
2010	65.12% 66,960	32.49% 33,408	2.39% 2,465
2006	68.80% 59,821	29.10% 25,303	2.10% 1,822
2002	73.74% 61,555	25.44% 21,237	0.82% 687
1998	71.06% 41,688	28.94% 16,981	0.00% 1
1994	61.40% 36,370	38.60% 22,860

CommunitiesEdit

CitiesEdit

Census-designated placesEdit

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Community development districtsEdit

Other unincorporated communitiesEdit

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Invasive snake issuesEdit

File:BarefootBeachFL.jpg

Barefoot Beach Preserve, a Collier County park

Collier is located in the center of Florida's invasive snake epidemic. A three-month effort at the beginning of 2016 netted over one ton of captured snakes, including a Florida record for the largest male Burmese python, measuring 16 ft and weighing 140 lb.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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Government links/Constitutional officesEdit

Special districtsEdit