Broward County, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Broward County, Florida
County
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; BB&T Center; docked boats in Pompano Beach
Broward County, Florida 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
• Density	1,469.8745/sq mi (567.5217/km2)
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
U.S. Routes
State roads
Commuter rail	Amtrak, Brightline, Tri-Rail

Broward County is a county located in Southeast Florida. It is the second-most populous county in the state of Florida and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 million inhabitants as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Fort Lauderdale, which had over 180,000 people in 2020.

Broward County is one of the three counties that make up the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6.14 million people in 2020. It’s also one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the entire country.

The county has 31 municipalities (including 24 incorporated cities) and many unincorporated areas. It’s also Florida's seventh-largest county in terms of land area, with 1,322.8 square miles (3,426 km²). Broward County's urbanized area occupies 427.8 square miles of land. The largest portion of the county is the Conservation Area that extends to the county's Western border. The conservation area is 796.9 square miles and consists of wetlands. At its widest points, the County stretches approximately 50.3 miles east to west and approximately 27.4 miles from north to south, averaging 5 to 25 feet in elevation.

History

Although the area has been settled since about 1400 B.C., Broward County was founded on October 1, 1915. It was named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909, remembered for his campaign to turn the Everglades into "useful land". It was originally 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 be named after Broward. In 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County 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 in order to create island communities. By 1925, the boom was considered to have reached its peak, but a 1926 hurricane caused economic depression in the county. The structure of county government was signed into law in 1975 with the passage of the Broward County charter.

At its inception, Broward County was considered a leader in agricultural products and services within the State of Florida .

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total 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 located 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 an environmental disaster.

Adjacent counties

• Palm Beach County - north
• Miami-Dade County - south
• Collier County - west
• Hendry County - northwest

Demographics

2015 5-Year American Community Survey

City skyline, featuring Las Olas River House (center), 110 Tower (far right), and Bank of America Plaza (far left)

A yacht in Fort Lauderdale's harbor

Households and families

As of the 2015 5-year ACS, Broward County had 1,843,152 people, 670,284 households, and 425,680 families. Of the 670,284 households in Broward County, 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.43.

Age

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.

Race, ancestry and nationality

The racial makeup of the county was 62.3% White, 30% Black or African American, 17.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 5.07% Asian, 2.20% from two or more races, 0.66% Native American, 0.16% Pacific Islander, and 0.20% from some other race. The racial makeup of the total Hispanic and Latino population in Broward County was: 65.8% White, 5.90% Native American, 2.06% Black or African American, 0.33% Asian, 0.86% Pacific Islander, 26.23% were some other race and 4.57% were from two or more races. In 2015, with relation to ancestry (excluding the various Hispanic and Latino ancestries), 7.38% were Italian, 7.70% American, 6.44% German, 6.54% Irish, 3.8% English, 2.6% Polish and 2.2% Russian ancestry. Also, among West Indians, 6.33% were Haitian and 5.96% were Jamaican. In 2015, 32.2% of the county's population was foreign born, with 18.14% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign born residents, 78.9% were born in Latin America, 7.88% were born in Europe, 8.52% born in Asia, 3.11% in North America, 1.34% born in Africa and 0.15 were born in Oceania.

Income

As of the 2015 5-year ACS, the median income for a household in the county was $51,968, and the median income for a family was $61,809. Of full-time workers, males had a median income of $46,372 versus $39,690 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,381. About 11.2% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under the age 18 and 12.6% of those aged 65 or over.

2010 Census

U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Ethnic/Race Demographics:

• White (non-Hispanic) : 42.5% (8.7% Irish, 8.2% Italian, 7.9% German, 5.0% English, 3.2% Polish, 2.7% Russian, 1.9% French, 1.0% Scottish, 0.8% Dutch, 0.8% Scotch-Irish, 0.8% Hungarian, 0.6% Swedish, 0.6% French Canadian, 0.5% Greek) (63.1% when including White Hispanics)
• Black (non-Hispanic) (26.7% when including Black Hispanics): 17.7% (12.8% West Indian/Afro-Caribbean American [5.7% Haitian, 5.3% Jamaican, 0.4% Trinidadian and Tobagonian, 0.4% Other or Unspecified West Indian, 0.3% Bahamian, 0.2% British West Indian, 0.1% Barbadian, and 0.8% Subsaharan African)
• Hispanic or Latino of any race: 26.9% (4.8% Cuban, 4.3% Puerto Rican, 3.8% Colombian, 1.7% Mexican, 1.6% Dominican, 1.4% Peruvian, 1.3% Venezuelan, 0.7% Ecuadoran, 0.7% Honduran, 0.6% Argentinean, 0.5% Nicaraguan, 0.5% Salvadoran)
• Asian: 3.2% (1.2% South Asian including Indians, Indo-Caribbeans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and Nepalese, 0.6% Chinese (Han Chinese and Chinese Americans), including Chinese Caribbeans and Taiwanese Americans, 0.5% Other Asian, 0.4% Filipino, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Korean)
• Two or more races: 2.9%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.3%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
• Other Races: 3.7% (0.7% Arab)

In 2010, 4.7% of the population considered themselves to be of only "American" ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity.)

As of 2010^[update], Haitians made up the largest population of immigrants, with Jamaicans coming in second, Colombians in third, followed by Cuban exiled refugees in fourth place, then Peruvians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Dominicans, Canadians, and Mexicans being the tenth highest group of expatriates. The county also houses many British, French, German, and Spanish expatriates.

There were 810,388 households, out of which 28.61% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.80% were married couples living together, 15.28% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.67% were non-families. 28.79% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.07% (3.31% male and 7.76% female) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.14.

The age distribution is 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,694, and the median income for a family was $62,619. Males had a median income of $44,935 versus $36,813 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,631. About 9.1% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those aged 65 or over.

In 2010, 30.9% of the county's population was foreign born, with 49.2% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign born residents, 77.4% were born in Latin America, 9.0% were born in Europe, 8.4% born in Asia, 3.5% in North America, 1.6% born in Africa, and 0.1% were born in Oceania.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Broward County is the 9th largest county with same sex households. As of the 2010 Census, there were 9,125 same sex households out of a total of 686,047 households (1.33%).

Languages

As of 2010^[update], 63.44% of all residents spoke English as their first language, while 22.22% spoke Spanish, 5.42% French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole), 1.48% Portuguese, 1.41% French, and 0.59% of the population spoke Italian as their mother language. In total, 36.56% of the population spoke languages other than English as their primary language. Since many immigrants are coming from the Anglophone Caribbean, where English is spoken, the change is not as fast as the rate of immigration would suggest.

Community services

Community services in Broward County include Women in Distress (WID), a nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center. WID works in partnership with the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

Transportation

Airports

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport

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 (5 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

A Broward County Transit bus in the current "Breeze" livery.

Public transportation

• Broward County Transit
• Tri-Rail
• Sun Trolley

Major expressways

Interstate 95 as it passes through Fort Lauderdale. The city's skyline can be seen in the background.

• Interstate 95
• Interstate 75
• Interstate 595 (Port Everglades Expressway)
• Florida's Turnpike (SR 91)
• Homestead Extension (SR 821)
• State Road 869 (Sawgrass Expressway)

Railroads

• Amtrak, Brightline and Tri-Rail run through Broward.

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 and Hallandale.

Greenways System

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

Communities

Municipality populations are based on the 2010 Census.

Formerly unincorporated neighborhoods

• Bonnie Loch-Woodsetter North in Pompano Beach.
• Broadview-Pompano Park in North Lauderdale.
• Broward Estates in Lauderhill.
• Carver Ranches in West Park.
• Chambers Estates in Dania Beach.
• Chula Vista Isles in Fort Lauderdale.
• Collier Manor-Cresthaven in Pompano Beach.
• Country Estates in Southwest Ranches.
• Crystal Lake in Deerfield Beach.
• Edgewater in Dania Beach.
• Estates of Fort Lauderdale in Dania Beach, and partially in Hollywood.
• Godfrey Road in Parkland.
• Golden Heights in Fort Lauderdale.
• Green Meadow in Southwest Ranches.
• Hacienda Village in Davie.
• Hillsboro Ranches in Coconut Creek.
• Ivanhoe Estates in Southwest Ranches.
• Kendall Green in Pompano Beach.
• Lake Forest in West Park.
• Leisureville in Pompano Beach.
• Loch Lomond in Pompano Beach.
• Melrose Park in Fort Lauderdale.
• Miami Gardens in West Park.
• North Andrews Gardens in Oakland Park.
• Oak Point in Hollywood.
• Palm Aire in Fort Lauderdale.
• Pine Island Ridge in Davie.
• Pompano Beach Highlands in Pompano Beach.
• Pompano Estates in Pompano Beach.
• Ravenswood Estates in Dania Beach.
• Ramblewood East in Coral Springs.
• Riverland Village in Fort Lauderdale.
• Rock Island in Fort Lauderdale.
• Rolling Oaks in Southwest Ranches.
• Royal Palm Ranches in Cooper City.
• St. George in Lauderhill.
• Sunshine Acres in Davie.
• Sunshine Ranches in Southwest Ranches.
• Tedder in Deerfield Beach.
• Terra Mar in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and partially in Pompano Beach.
• Twin Lakes North of Prospect Road, in Fort Lauderdale. South of Prospect Road, in Oakland Park.
• Utopia in West Park.
• Village Park in North Lauderdale.
• West Ken-Lark in Lauderhill.

Census-designated places

• Boulevard Gardens
• Broadview Park
• Franklin Park
• Hillsboro Pines
• Roosevelt Gardens
• Washington Park

Other unincorporated areas

• Andytown
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Points of interest

Broward boasts some notable attractions. The Museum of Discovery and Science is located in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The International Swimming Hall of Fame is located near the Atlantic Ocean, also in Fort Lauderdale. The International Game Fish Association, including the Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, is located in Dania Beach. Flamingo Gardens is a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary. Butterfly World, another botanical sanctuary, is located in Coconut Creek. Sawgrass Mills, a large outlet shopping mall, is located in Sunrise. Also, the NHL's Florida Panthers play their games at the BB&T Center in Sunrise. There are also multiple entrances to Everglades parks. In Pompano Beach is the Festival Flea Market Mall, America's largest indoor flea market. The African-American Research Library & Cultural Center off of Sistrunk Avenue in Fort Lauderdale boasts more than 75,000 books and materials on the experiences of people of African descent in the Caribbean, Central and South America and the United States. Other destinations of note are the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop (colloquially known to locals as simply the Swap Shop), Riverwalk (Fort Lauderdale), and Beach Place, a strip of stores, restaurants, and bars situated across the street from the beach along the Atlantic coast in Ft. Lauderdale.

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.

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.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Broward College South Campus administration building

Broward County Schools 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.

Images for kids

• 

  Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857-1910)

• 

  Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, Fort Lauderdale

• 

  Stranahan House, Fort Lauderdale

• 

  Butterfly World, Coconut Creek

• 

  Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Broward para niños