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Broward County
Ft Lauderdale Skyline.jpg
Florida-Hollywood-Water Tank.jpg
Tarpon River Neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida .jpg
Dania Beach, FL, USA - panoramio (2).jpg
Las Olas Beach.jpg
Sawgrass Mills 180133.jpg
BB&T Center (Sunrise).JPG
Pompano Beach, FL, USA - panoramio (11).jpg
Images, from top down, left to right: Fort Lauderdale skyline; Hollywood Beach Boardwalk; Hollywood water tower; Tarpon River neighborhood; Dania Beach pier; life guard station on Las Olas Beach; Sawgrass Mills shopping mall in Sunrise; Amerant Bank Arena; docked boats in Pompano Beach
Logo
Logo
Map of Florida highlighting Broward County.svg
Broward County is located in the United States
Broward County
Broward County
Location in the United States
Country  United States
State  Florida
Region South Florida
Metro area Miami
Founded April 30, 1915
Named for Napoleon B. Broward
County seat Fort Lauderdale
Largest city Fort Lauderdale (population, total area)
Davie (land area)
Incorporated cities 24
Government
 • Type Council–manager government
 • Body Board of County Commissioners
Area
 • Total 1,322.817 sq mi (3,426.08 km2)
 • Land 1,203.105 sq mi (3,116.03 km2)
 • Water 119.712 sq mi (310.05 km2)
Highest elevation 29 ft (9 m)
Lowest elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 1,944,375
 • Estimate 
(2022)
1,947,026
 • Rank 17th in the United States
2nd in Florida
 • Density 1,618.33/sq mi (624.84/km2)
GDP
 • Total $146.735 billion (2022)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (Eastern Daylight Time)
ZIP Codes
33004, 33009, 33019–33021,33023–33029, 33060, 33062–33069, 33071, 33073, 33076, 33301, 33304–33306, 33308–33317, 33319, 33321–33328, 33330–33332, 33334, 33351, 33441–33442
Area codes 754/954
FIPS code 12011
GNIS feature ID 295753
Primary airport Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport
FLL (major/international)
Secondary airport Miami International Airport-
MIA (international/neighboring county)-
Palm Beach International Airport-
PBI (international/neighboring county)-
North Perry Airport-
HWO (regional)-
Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport-
FXE (regional)-
Pompano Beach Airpark-
PMP (regional)
Interstates link = Interstate 75 in Florida link = Interstate 95 in Florida link = Interstate 595 (Florida)
U.S. Routes link = U.S. Route 1 in Florida link = U.S. Route 27 in Florida link = U.S. Route 441 in Florida
State roads link = Florida's Turnpike link = Florida State Road A1A Florida 5.svg Florida 7.svg Florida 9.svg Florida 25.svg Florida 84.svg Florida 93.svg Florida 736.svg Florida 810.svg Florida 811.svg Florida 814.svg Florida 816.svg Florida 817.svg Florida 818.svg Florida 820.svg Florida 822.svg Florida 823.svg Florida 824.svg Florida 838.svg Florida 842.svg Florida 845.svg Florida 848.svg Florida 849.svg Florida 852.svg Florida 858.svg Florida 862.svg Florida 869.svg Florida 870.svg
Commuter rail Amtrak, Brightline, Tri-Rail

Broward County (/ˈbr.ərd/ brourd, BROW-(w)ərd) is a county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with 1,944,375 residents as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Lauderdale, which had a population of 182,760 as of 2020. The county is part of the South Florida region of the state.

Broward County is one of the three counties that make up the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to 6.14 million people as of 2020. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the entire country. As of 2022, Broward County has a gross domestic product of $124.8 billion, the second-largest GDP of Florida's 67 counties and the 25th-largest for the nation's 3,033 counties.

History

Native people

The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region came from about 12,000 years ago. The first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River, with the main villages on the northern banks.

The inhabitants at the time of first European contact were the Tequesta people, who controlled much of southeastern Florida, including what is now Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the southern part of Palm Beach County. The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did not practice any form of agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put the larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle.

Napoleon Bonaparte Broward
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857-1910)

Founding of Broward

Broward County was founded on April 30, 1915. It was intended to be named Everglades County, but then-Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Ion Farris amended the bill that established the county to name it in honor of Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909.

Throughout his term as governor, Broward championed Everglades drainage and was remembered for his campaign to turn the Everglades into "useful land". This opened up much of today's urban Broward County for development, first as agricultural land and later as residential. A year before Broward became governor, Dania became the first incorporated community of what is now Broward County, followed by Pompano in 1908, and Fort Lauderdale in 1911.

In 1915, Palm Beach and Dade counties contributed nearly equal portions of land to create Broward County.

Broward County began a huge development boom after its incorporation, with the first "tourist hotel", in Fort Lauderdale, opening in 1919. A year later, developers began dredging wetlands in the county to create island communities.

Land boom and rapid growth

By 1925, the boom was considered to have reached its peak, but the 1926 Miami hurricane caused economic depression in the county. The county saw another population and development boom post-World War II when the transformation from agricultural to urbanized residential area began.

In 1967, Coconut Creek was incorporated.

The effects of a national recession hit the county in 1974 and the population growth finally slowed. This is from a peak growth percentage change of 297.9% which saw the population of Broward grow from 83,933 as of 1950 to 333,946 in 1960. The population subsequently experienced an 85.7% population growth which brought the population to a total of 620,100 in 1970.

Recent history

The structure of the Broward County government was signed into law in 1975 with the passage of the Broward County charter. In the same year, the Seminole Tribe of Florida incorporated as a governing entity and began organizing cigarette sales, bingo and land leases that will bring millions of dollars in annual revenue in later years. In 1976, Interstate 95 was completed through Broward County.

On January 19, 1977, snow fell in South Florida for the first time in recorded history. Snow was seen across all of South Florida as far south as Homestead and even on Miami Beach. Snow was officially reported by weather observers in West Palm Beach, LaBelle, Hollywood, and Royal Palm Ranger Station in southern Miami-Dade County.

In the year 1980, the US census reported over 1 million people living in Broward County.

On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed through Broward County County, causing $100 million in damage in the county and leaving many residents homeless.

In the year 2000, the US census reported a total population of 1,623,018. The town of South West Ranches was incorporated this year.

On March 1, 2005, West Park became Broward County's 31st municipality to be incorporated.

On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida leaving the entire area damaged and causing almost universal power outages. Wilma was the most damaging storm in Broward County since Hurricane King in 1950. Broward experienced wind speeds between 80 and 100 mph (130 and 160 km/h) which endured for about five hours.

On February 14, 2018, the city of Parkland became the scene of a deadly mass shooting perpetrated by a 19-year-old former student of Stoneman Douglas High School. The trial of the perpetrator of the shooting, Nikolas Cruz, was held at the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Broward County in 2022 with Judge Elizabeth Scherer presiding. Cruz was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

In June 2020, following the George Floyd protests, some residents called for the county to be renamed due to Governor Broward's support for segregation and the Back-to-Africa movement.

Fort Lauderdale harbor
Fort Lauderdale's harbor and skyline

Geography

Weather chart for Broward County, FL
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,323 square miles (3,430 km2), of which 1,210 square miles (3,100 km2) is land and 113 square miles (290 km2) (8.5%) is water.

Broward County has an average elevation of six feet (1.8 m) above sea level. It is rather new geologically and at the eastern edge of the Florida Platform, a carbonate plateau created millions of years ago. Broward County is composed of Oolite limestone while western Broward is composed mostly of Bryozoa. Broward is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene.

Of developable land in Broward County, approximately 471 square miles (1,219.9 km2), the majority is built upon, as the urban area is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades Wildlife Management Area to the west. Within developable land, Broward County has a population density of 3,740 per square mile (1,444 per square kilometer).

Broward approved the construction of Osborne Reef, an artificial reef made of tires off the Fort Lauderdale beach, but it has proven to be an environmental disaster.

Adjacent counties

Aerial view of sunset looking westward in Broward County. The Everglades appear in the background. Beyond that is Collier County.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1920 5,135
1930 20,094 291.3%
1940 39,794 98.0%
1950 83,933 110.9%
1960 333,946 297.9%
1970 620,100 85.7%
1980 1,018,200 64.2%
1990 1,255,488 23.3%
2000 1,623,018 29.3%
2010 1,748,066 7.7%
2020 1,944,375 11.2%
2023 (est.) 1,962,531 12.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
1920–1970 1980 1990
2000 2010 2020 2022
Historical racial composition 2020 2010 2000 1990 1980
White (non-Hispanic) 33.1% 43.5% 58.0% 74.9% 84.3%
Hispanic or Latino 31.3% 25.1% 16.7% 8.6% 4.0%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 26.6% 25.7% 20.0% 14.9% 10.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 3.8% 3.2% 2.3% 1.3% 0.8%
Native American (non-Hispanic) 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%
Some other race (non-Hispanic) 1.1% 0.5% 0.4% 0.1%
Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 3.8% 1.7% 2.4% N/A N/A
Population 1,944,375 1,748,066 1,623,018 1,255,488 1,018,200
Ethnic Origins in Broward County, FL
Ethnic origins in Broward County
Demographic characteristics 2020 2010 2000 1990 1980
Households 860,329 810,388 741,043 528,442 417,517
Persons per household 2.26 2.16 2.19 2.38 2.44
Sex Ratio 93.4 93.9 93.3 91.9 91.0
Ages 0–17 20.5% 22.4% 23.6% 20.4% 21.0%
Ages 18–64 62.3% 63.3% 60.3% 58.8% 57.0%
Ages 65 + 17.2% 14.3% 16.1% 20.8% 22.0%
Median age 41.4 39.7 37.8 37.6 38.7
Population 1,944,375 1,748,066 1,623,018 1,255,488 1,018,200
Economic indicators
2018–22 American Community Survey Broward County Florida
Median income $39,690 $37,826
Median household income $70,331 $67,917
Poverty Rate 12.4% 12.9%
High school diploma 90.0% 89.3%
Bachelor's degree 34.9% 32.3%
Advanced degree 13.3% 12.1%
Language spoken at home 2020 2010 2000 1990 1980
English 57.5% 62.5% 71.2% 82.3% 88.3%
Spanish or Spanish Creole 27.6% 22.9% 16.3% 8.0% 3.7%
French or Haitian Creole 7.0% 7.2% 5.4% 3.3% 1.4%
Other Languages 7.8% 7.4% 7.1% 6.4% 6.6%
Nativity 2020 2010 2000 1990 1980
% population native-born 64.6% 68.6% 74.7% 84.2% 88.9%
... born in the United States 61.0% 65.7% 72.2% 82.3% 87.8%
... born in Puerto Rico or Island Areas 2.1% 1.9% 1.7% 1.1% 1.0%
... born to American parents abroad 1.4% 1.1% 0.8% 0.8%
% population foreign-born 35.4% 31.4% 25.3% 15.8% 11.1%
... born in Jamaica 4.5% 4.5% 3.7% 1.8% 0.5%
... born in Haiti 4.4% 4.1% 2.9% 1.5% N/A
... born in Colombia 3.4% 2.8% 2.0% 0.8% N/A
... born in Cuba 3.2% 2.5% 2.0% 1.3% 0.8%
... born in

China

0.5% 0.35% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%
... born in Venezuela 2.5% 1.2% 0.6% 0.1% N/A
... born in Brazil 1.5% 1.1% 0.9% 0.2% N/A
... born in Peru 1.2% 1.2% 0.8% 0.3% N/A
... born in the Dominican Republic 1.0% 0.9% 0.6% 0.2% < 0.1%
... born in Mexico 1.0% 0.8% 0.7% 0.2% 0.1%
... born in Canada 0.8% 1.0% 1.3% 1.2% 1.4%
... born in Honduras 0.8% 0.6% 0.3% 0.1% N/A
... born in Trinidad and Tobago 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% N/A
... born in Argentina 0.6% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% N/A
... born in India 0.6% 0.5% 0.3% 0.1% 0.1%
... born in El Salvador 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.1% N/A
... born in Ecuador 0.5% 0.6% 0.3% 0.2% N/A
... born in the United Kingdom 0.4% 0.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.7%
... born in Russia 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.5% 0.9%
... born in Italy 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.8%
... born in Germany 0.2% 0.3% 0.5% 0.6% 0.8%
... born in Poland 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.6% 0.7%
... born in other countries 6.9% 6.6% 5.6% 4.1% 4.3%

As of 2005, Broward County led the nation's metropolitan areas in new AIDS diagnoses, with a reported rate 58.4 new AIDS diagnoses per 100,000 people. County officials think the numbers may stem from a new and successful HIV testing campaign that has resulted in many people being diagnosed with AIDS at the same time they've been diagnosed with HIV. Without the implementation of the new testing campaign, the reported numbers of new diagnoses would have probably been lower.

Economy

Silver Airways has its headquarters on the property of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in an unincorporated area. Other companies with headquarters in unincorporated areas include Locair.

Spirit Airlines has its headquarters in Miramar.

When Chalk's International Airlines existed, its headquarters was on the grounds of the airport in an unincorporated area. When Bimini Island Air existed, its headquarters were in an unincorporated area.

By far the largest agricultural sector is nurseries, greenhouses, floricultures, and sod. This supplies ornamental uses in the area.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

BCC South Campus - panoramio
Broward College South Campus administration building

Broward County Schools, the sole school district in the county, has the sixth largest school district in the country and the second largest in the state after the Miami-Dade district.

Regionally accredited colleges and universities

  • Broward College
  • Florida Atlantic University (Branch campuses)
  • Nova Southeastern University
  • Keiser University

Other adult education providers

  • DeVry University
  • University of Phoenix
  • The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
  • Florida Career College
  • Brown Mackie College
  • Atlantic Technical Center and Technical High School
  • McFatter Technical College and Technical High School
  • Sheridan Technical College and Technical High School

Public libraries

The Broward County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the country, comprising 38 branch locations. There are also five municipal public libraries in the county that are not part of the Broward County Library system: Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, Lighthouse Point Library, Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library, Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors, and Parkland Public Library.

Library Resources

Broward County libraries provide endless amount of resources to the public. For high-schoolers looking to prepare themselves for college, the library offers college readiness & SAT/ACT prep courses. For adults looking to learn computer skills, adult computer classes are also offered. These resources are free of cost, therefore, all it takes is registering to participate. In addition to the many resources offered at the library, bus passes are also sold at most Broward County libraries. If you want to enjoy some of these resources, you can simply download the app to utilize them on the go. There are nine apps available for download: Broward County Library (BCL WoW), Freegal Music, Hoopla, Overdrive, Libby, Axis 360, RBdigital Magazines, Rosetta Stone, and Brainfuse.

Sites of interest

Stranahan House 1
Stranahan House, Fort Lauderdale

Museums and historical collections

Nature and wildlife areas

Butterfly World, Florida
Butterfly World, Coconut Creek
  • Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hollywood
  • Butterfly World, a botanical sanctuary in Coconut Creek
  • Everglades Holiday Park, featuring airboat rides and alligator shows
  • Fern Forest Nature Center, Coconut Creek
  • Flamingo Gardens, a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary
  • Secret Woods Nature Center, Dania Beach
  • Sawgrass Recreation Park
    Evergladesairboattour
    An airboat tour in Everglades Holiday Park

Other areas and attractions

Hollywood Beach boardwalk - panoramio
Hollywood Beach Broadwalk
  • Beach Place, a strip of stores, restaurants, and bars across the street from the beach along the Atlantic coast, in Fort Lauderdale
  • Broward Center for the Performing Arts
  • Hollywood Beach Broadwalk
  • Florida Grand Opera
  • Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop (colloquially known to locals as simply the Swap Shop)
  • Sawgrass Mills, a large outlet shopping mall in Sunrise
  • Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, where the NHL's Florida Panthers play their games
  • The Festival Flea Market Mall in Pompano Beach, America's largest indoor flea market
  • Riverwalk (Fort Lauderdale)

Additionally, with 23 miles of beach, Broward County is a popular destination for scuba diving, snorkeling, and droves of young Spring break tourists from around the world.

Transportation

Airports

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport serves as the primary airport of the Broward County area. The airport is bounded by the cities Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Dania Beach, three miles (4.8 km) southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale and 21 mi (34 km) north of Miami. The airport is near cruise line terminals at Port Everglades and is popular among tourists bound for the Caribbean. Since the late 1990s, FLL has become an intercontinental gateway, although Miami International Airport still handles most long-haul flights. FLL is ranked as the 19th busiest airport (in terms of passenger traffic) in the United States, as well as the nation's 14th busiest international air gateway and one of the world's 50 busiest airports. FLL is classified by the US Federal Aviation Administration as a "major hub" facility serving commercial air traffic. In 2017 the airport processed 32,511,053 passengers (11.3% more than 2016) including 7,183,275 international passengers (18.6% more than 2016).

  • North Perry Airport
  • Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
  • Pompano Beach Airpark
  • Downtown Fort Lauderdale Heliport
BCTBus
A Broward County Transit bus in the current "Breeze" livery.

Public transportation

  • Broward County Transit
  • Sun Trolley

Major expressways

Lauderdale from tri rail
Interstate 95 as it passes through Fort Lauderdale. The city's skyline can be seen in the background.
  • I-95.svg Interstate 95
  • I-75.svg Interstate 75
  • I-595.svg Interstate 595 (Port Everglades Expressway)
  • Florida's Turnpike shield.svg Florida's Turnpike (SR 91)
  • Florida's Turnpike shield.svg Homestead Extension (SR 821)
  • Toll Florida 869.svg State Road 869 (Sawgrass Expressway)

Railroads

  • Passenger services: Amtrak, Brightline, and Tri-Rail
  • Freight services: Florida East Coast Railway and CSX Transportation

Street grid

A street grid stretches throughout Broward County. Most of this grid is loosely based on three primary eastern municipalities, (from South to North) Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach. Deerfield Beach—another primary eastern municipality—has its own street grid, as do two smaller municipalities—Dania Beach and Hallandale Beach.

Greenways System

Construction is underway on a network of recreational trails to connect cities and points of interest in the county.

Communities

Map of Broward County Florida
Map of the municipalities (colored areas) and unincorporated communities (grey areas) of Broward County

Municipalities

Municipality populations are based on the 2020 US Census using their QuickFacts with 5,000 residents and above, while municipalities under 5,000 people are based on their US Decennial Census.

# Incorporated community Designation Date incorporated Population
1 Parkland City July 10, 1963 34,670
2 Coconut Creek City February 20, 1967 57,833
3 Deerfield Beach City June 11, 1925 86,859
4 Coral Springs City July 10, 1963 134,394
5 Margate City May 30, 1955 58,712
6 Pompano Beach City June 6, 1908 112,046
7 Lighthouse Point City June 13, 1956 10,486
8 Hillsboro Beach Town June 12, 1939 1,987
9 Tamarac City August 15, 1963 71,897
10 North Lauderdale City July 10, 1963 44,794
11 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Town November 30, 1927 6,198
12 Sea Ranch Lakes Village October 6, 1959 540
13 Oakland Park City June 10, 1929 44,229
14 Wilton Manors City May 13, 1947 11,426
15 Lazy Lake Village June 3, 1953 33
16 Fort Lauderdale City March 27, 1911 182,760
17 Lauderdale Lakes City June 22, 1961 35,954
18 Lauderhill City June 20, 1959 74,482
19 Sunrise City June 22, 1961 97,335
20 Plantation City April 30, 1953 91,750
21 Weston City September 3, 1996 68,107
22 Davie Town November 16, 1925 105,691
23 Dania Beach City November 30, 1904 31,723
24 Hollywood City November 28, 1925 153,067
25 Southwest Ranches Town June 6, 2000 7,607
26 Cooper City City June 20, 1959 34,401
27 Pembroke Pines City March 2, 1959 171,178
28 Miramar City May 26, 1955 134,721
29 West Park City March 1, 2005 15,130
30 Pembroke Park Town October 10, 1957 6,260
31 Hallandale Beach City May 11, 1927 41,217

Former unincorporated neighborhoods

In the 1980s, the Broward County Commission adopted a policy of having all populated places in the county be part of a municipality. Municipalities were often reluctant to annex neighborhoods which were not projected to yield enough tax revenue to cover the costs of providing services to those neighborhoods. In 2001 the Broward County Legislative Delegation adopted a policy encouraging the annexation of all unincorporated areas in Broward County into municipalities by October 1, 2005. Formerly unincorporated neighborhoods that have been annexed into existing municipalities or combined to form new municipalities as of 2018 include:

Remaining unincorporated neighborhoods

By late in the first decade of the 21st century, annexation of remaining neighborhoods had stalled. As of 2018 the Broward County Municipal Services District serves seven unincorporated neighborhoods, including six census designated places (Boulevard Gardens, Broadview Park, Franklin Park, Hillsboro Pines, Roosevelt Gardens and Washington Park) and a parcel with a population of 72 in 2018, Hillsboro Ranches. Other areas in the developed part of the county that are not in municipalities include the Hollywood Seminole Indian Reservation, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, several landfills and resource recovery facilities, and other scattered small parcels with few or no residents.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Broward para niños

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