Dixie County Florida   Located in North Florida

Dixie County Cities

Land area (rank): 701 square miles (34)
Population 1993 (rank): 11, 810 (60)
Population density 1993 (rank): 17 persons per square mile (63)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 36.6% (29)

Physical Characteristics

Dixie County is west of Gainesville. It is bordered on the west by the Gulf of Mexico and Taylor County and on the north by Lafayette County. On the east, it is separated from Levy and Gilchrist counties by the Suwannee River. The county has 26 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 55.2 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.4 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 58.20 inches.

History

Dixie County was established from Lafayette County in 1921 and named for the nickname of the South. Andrew Jackson defeated Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs at Old Town in Dixie County.

Population

In 1993, 80% of Dixie County's population was in unincorporated areas. The largest town is Cross City, which had a 1993 population of 2,037. The only other incorporated place in the county is Horseshoe Beach, which in 1993 had a population of 245. Much of the county is wetlands. In 1993, 90% of Dixie County's population was white and 10% was nonwhite. In 1990, 0.9% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 81.1% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate was 14.7 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 10.5 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 19.1 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, none planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 7.1%. In 1990, 57.7% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 6.2% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by Lake City Community College (Columbia County).

Economy

The per capita income in Dixie County for 1993 was $11,331 (63rd highest in the state). The median household income for 1989 was $15,380. In 1989, 21.3% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 28.2% of personal income in Dixie County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons were employed in the government, manufacturing, and retail trade sectors. The major state employer is the Cross City Correctional Institution. Lumber and wood products firms accounted for the greatest employment in the manufacturing sector. In the retail trade sector food stores and eating and drinking establishments employed the greatest numbers of persons. In 1992 there were 106 farms in the county, totalling 31,693 acres (7% of land in the county). The county's major agricultural products are cattle and hay. In 1991, 31,040 thousand board feet of softwood logs (7th highest in the state), 89,862 cords of softwood for pulp, 1,782 thousand board feet of hardwood logs, and 13,813 cords of hardwood for pulp were produced in the county. In 1991, 1,258,883 pounds of fish and 475,092 pounds of shellfish were landed in the county.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $37,500
Median monthly rent 1990: $160
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 53.0
Housing starts 1992: 45
Housing starts 1993: 40

In 1992 the price level index for Dixie County was 92.83 (46th highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 10.000, and the total taxable value of property was $177,230,673. Taxable sales totalled $36.70 million in 1992 and $36.60 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $895 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Dixie County's revenues totalled $7,922 thousand ($752.0 per capita) and its expenditures $7,987 thousand ($758.2 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 91.5% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 91.2% were registered Democrat and 7.3% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 32.0% of the votes were cast for Bush, 42.4% for Clinton, and 25.0% for Perot.