Hernando County Florida   Located in West Florida

Hernando County Cities

Land area (rank): 477 square miles (63)
Population 1993 (rank): 111,695 (28)
Population density 1993 (rank): 234 persons per square mile (19)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 127.4% (2)

Physical Characteristics

Hernando County is on the Gulf coast, north of the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, and is bordered by Citrus, Sumter, and Pasco counties. The county has 24 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 59.8 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.0 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 55.76 inches.

History

Named for the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, Hernando County was established in 1843 from pieces of Hillsborough, Mosquito, and Alachua counties. The name was changed to Benton in honor of Thomas Hart Benton in 1844, but was restored to Hernando in 1850.

Population

In 1993, 93% of Hernando County's population was in unincorporated areas. The most populous incorporated place is Brooksville, which had a 1993 population of 7,659. The only other incorporated place is Weeki Wachee, with a 1993 population of 11. Hernando is among the fastest growing counties in the state. Much of this growth is in retirement communities that have appeared throughout the county since 1970. Spring Hill grew most rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s and had a 1990 population of 31,117. The area around Weeki Wachee also continued to develop during the 1980s. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has designated Hernando County as part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. In 1993, 95% of Hernando County's population was white and 5% was nonwhite. In 1990, 2.9% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 100.0% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate was 8.7 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 14.2 deaths per 1,000 persons. The 1992 infant mortality rate was 8.4 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 54.4% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 3.9%. In 1990, 70.5% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 9.7% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by Pasco-Hernando Community College (Pasco County).

Economy

The per capita income in Hernando County for 1993 was $15,892 (34th highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $22,741. In 1989, 7.9% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 27.0% of personal income in Hernando County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Hernando County were employed in the retail trade, services, and government sectors. The employers of the greatest numbers of persons in the retail trade sector were eating and drinking establishments and food stores, and the employer of the greatest number of persons in the services sector was medical and other health services. Limerock mining and stone production are Hernando County's major industries. In 1992 there were 411 farms in Hernando County, totalling 61,019 acres (20% of land in the county). The county's leading agricultural products are cattle and poultry. In 1991, 14,367 thousand board feet of softwood logs, 385 thousand board feet of hardwood logs, and 2,222 cords of softwood for pulp were harvested. In 1991, 13,938 pounds of fish and 185,454 pounds of shellfish were landed.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $71,200
Median monthly rent 1990: $341
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 24.3
Housing starts 1992: 1240
Housing starts 1993: 1308

In 1992 the price level index for Hernando County was 94.09 (35th highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 7.9048, and the total taxable value of property was $3,285,464,185. Taxable sales totalled $515.60 million in 1992 and $564.80 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $17,765 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Hernando County's revenues totalled $80,612 thousand ($772.2 per capita) and its expenditures $88,654 thousand ($849.2 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 83.6% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 45.9% were registered Democrat and 45.7% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election, 39.1% of the votes were cast for Clinton, 36.5% for Bush, and 24.1% for Perot.

Events and Places of Interest

World's Chicken Pluckin' Championship, Springhill, November; Re-enactment of the Battle of Brooksville, January; Florida's Weeki Wachee.