Okaloosa County, Florida

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Coordinates". Script error: No such module "Settlement short description".Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".Expression error: Unexpected < operator.Template:Category handlerExpression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Okaloosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668.[1] Its county seat is Crestview.[2] Okaloosa County is included in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Okaloosa County was created by an act passed on September 7, 1915,[3] formed from the eastern ranges of Santa Rosa County and the western ranges of Walton County.

Okaloosa means "black water" (oka means "water" and lusa means "black") in the Choctaw language. The name may have come from the related language spoken by the Chatot and other peoples of the Florida Panhandle.[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". is land and Script error: No such module "convert". (14.0%) is water.[5] Fort Walton Beach and three United States Air Force bases, (Duke Field in the North and Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field are in the south).

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

File:Beach in Destin, Florida.jpg
Beach in Destin, Florida

State Parks and Forests

  • Blackwater River State Forest:[6] Script error: No such module "convert". spanning Okaloosa and neighboring Santa Rosa County.[7]
  • Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Recreation Area:[8] Script error: No such module "convert". of sand pine forest along Choctawhatchee Bay. The park provides facilities for camping, hiking, fishing, and canoeing. It is located Script error: No such module "convert". east of Niceville on State Road 20.[9]
  • Henderson Beach State Park:[10] Script error: No such module "convert". of sugar sand beach along the Gulf of Mexico. The park provides facilities for camping, RV-ing, and picnicking, as well as a pavilion and boardwalk. It is located just east of downtown Destin on U.S. 98.[9]

Demographics

<templatestyles src="US Census population/styles.css"/>

Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
19209,360—
19309,897Script error: No such module "String".%
194012,900Script error: No such module "String".%
195027,533Script error: No such module "String".%
196061,175Script error: No such module "String".%
197088,187Script error: No such module "String".%
1980109,920Script error: No such module "String".%
1990143,776Script error: No such module "String".%
2000170,498Script error: No such module "String".%
2010180,822Script error: No such module "String".%
2020211,668Script error: No such module "String".%
2023 (est.)218,464[11]Script error: No such module "String".%
2020[1]

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 211,668. The median age was 38.1 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.6 males age 18 and over.[12]

The racial makeup of the county was 71.7% White, 9.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.8% from some other race, and 11.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.7% of the population.[13]

89.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 10.6% lived in rural areas.[14]

There were 83,957 households in the county, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.8% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[12]

There were 101,197 housing units, of which 17.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.6% were owner-occupied and 35.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.8%.[12]

Racial and ethnic composition

Okaloosa County racial composition as of 2020
(NH = Non-Hispanic)Template:Efn
Race Pop 2010[15] Pop 2020[16] % 2010 % 2020
White (NH) 139,500 146,271 77.15% 69.1%
Black or African American (NH) 16,333 18,896 9.03% 8.93%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 895 799 0.49% 0.38%
Asian (NH) 5,189 6,578 2.87% 3.11%
Pacific Islander (NH) 330 448 0.18% 0.21%
Some Other Race (NH) 397 1,206 0.22% 0.57%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) 5,882 14,892 3.25% 7.04%
Hispanic or Latino 12,296 22,578 6.8% 10.67%
Total 180,822 211,668 100.00% 100.00%

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, the population density was Script error: No such module "convert"..[17]

Within the 2010 census, 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.20% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.94.[17]

According to the 2010 census, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.50 males.[17]

2015 estimates

In 2015, the median income for a household in the county was $55,880. The per capita income for the county was $28,902. 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line.[18]

Education

The county's public schools come under the Okaloosa County School District.

Northwest Florida State College serves over 10,000 residents of Okaloosa County annually for bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates. The college maintains four campuses in Okaloosa County: Niceville, Crestview, Ft. Walton Beach, and Hurlburt Field, and one campus in Walton County, FL.

Libraries

Okaloosa County is served by the Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative. Formed in October 1997, the Cooperative originally included the county and the cities of Crestview, Mary Esther, and Niceville. The cities of Fort Walton Beach, Valparaiso, and Destin all joined the Cooperative by the year 2000.[19] The Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative is governed by an independent, inter-governmental agency with seven members.[20]

Transportation

Airports

Highways

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

  • Script error: No such module "Jct". (Interstate 10) is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and runs through central Okaloosa County. It contains two interchanges within the county; CR 189 (Exit 45) south of Holt, and later SR (Exit 56), south Crestview. A third interchange for Crestview is currently being built at Exit 53 for the P. J. Adams Parkway.
  • Script error: No such module "Jct". (U.S. Highway 90)
  • Script error: No such module "Jct". (U.S. Highway 98)
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".
  • Script error: No such module "Jct".

Surface transportation

Emerald Coast Rider (formerly Okaloosa County Transit)[21] operates bus services in the county.[22]

File:New Crestview Courthouse.jpg
Okaloosa County's new Courthouse first case was held January 2, 2019.
File:Entering-Okaloosa-County sign in Destin, FL.jpg
Several road signs at the county and Destin boundary.

Law enforcement

In November 2023 in Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy Jesse Hernandez and sergeant Beth Roberts shot multiple times at Hernandez's police car, where a handcuffed and unarmed black suspect had been placed there by police, according to investigators. The suspect was not injured by the shootings. Hernandez in December 2023 resigned from the department. In February 2024, it was announced that an internal investigation by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's office concluded that Hernandez began shooting after hearing the sound of an acorn bouncing off his police car, then Roberts began shooting after hearing Hernandez shooting and screaming, with Hernandez at one point shouting: "I'm hit! I'm hit!". Hernandez had told investigators that he thought he heard a gunshot from a "suppressed weapon" and believed that he had been shot: "I felt an impact on my right side, like upper torso area … I feel the impact. My legs just give out." The Sheriff's Office's stated that while Roberts' shooting was reasonable, Hernandez's shooting was "not objectively reasonable", but "we do believe [Hernandez] felt his life was in immediate peril".[23][24][25]

In May 2024, an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot Roger Fortson, a United States Air Force member, in Fortson's home in Fort Walton Beach.[26] According to body camera footage, when the deputy visited an apartment, Fortson opened the apartment door holding a gun in his right hand, with the gun held by his side and pointed downwards.[26][27] As the door opened, the deputy told Fortson to "step back" and immediately shot Fortson.[26][27][28] Fortson falls to the floor, and it is only then that the deputy tells Fortson: "Drop the gun!"[26][27]

Later in May 2024, a Florida woman sued the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, claiming that on two occasions, once in August 2019 and once in May 2020, they forced her to leave her home while she remained naked during the execution of search warrants, exposing her to law enforcement officers and the public.[29]

Politics

Okaloosa County is one of the most conservative counties in Florida. Incumbent George W. Bush won the county in 2004 with 78% of the popular vote and in 2008 the Republican candidate John McCain polled 72%.[30] Mitt Romney won the county in 2012 with 73.80% (70,168) of the popular vote, and Donald Trump won 70.42% (71,893) in 2016.[31] In 2020, Donald Trump won 68.25% of the vote.[32]

Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Hutchinson, Leonard Patrick, "History of the Playground Area of Northwest Florida", Great Outdoors Publishing Co., St. Petersburg, Florida, 1st ed., 1961, no Library of Congress card number, no ISBN, page 41.
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Okaloosa County Library Cooperative. (2011). Introduction to the Okaloosa County Library Cooperative. Retrieved from https://www.cityofdestin.com/DocumentCenter/View/602/Introduction-to-Okaloosa-County-Public-Library-CooperativeScript error: No such module "Unsubst".
  20. ↑ Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative. (2018). About Us. Retrieved from https://readokaloosa.org/client/en_US/default/?rm=ABOUTScript error: No such module "Unsubst". US0%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Geographic Location Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Geography of Florida Template:North Florida

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Okaloosa_County,_Florida&oldid=4367406"