Hillsborough County Florida   Located in West Florida

Hillsborough County Cities

Land area (rank): 1,053 square miles (13)
Population 1993 (rank): 866,134 (4)
Population density 1993 (rank): 823 persons per square mile (6)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 28.9% (39)

Physical Characteristics

Hillsborough County is on the Gulf coast and is bordered by Tampa Bay and by Pinellas, Polk, Manatee, and Pasco counties. The county has 39 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 60.4 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.5 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 48.48 inches.

History

Hillsborough County was established in 1834 from St. Johns County and named for Wills Hills, the Earl of Hillsborough.

Population

Much of Hillsborough County's population is adjacent to Tampa Bay. Tampa had a 1993 population of 282,848. The two other incorporated areas, Plant City and Temple Terrace, each had populations under 25,000 in 1993. Hillsborough County has numerous unincorporated areas with large populations. Brandon had a population of 57,985 in 1990 and Town 'n' Country had a population of 60,946. Many of the unincorporated areas west of Tampa continued to grow during the 1980s. Hillsborough County is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1993, 85% of Hillsborough County's population was white and 15% was nonwhite. In 1990, 12.8% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 70.2% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate was 16.1 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 8.5 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 11.1 per 1,000. In 1993 the leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 66.9% planned to continue their education. In 1992 the high school dropout rate was 2.7%. In 1990, 75.6% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 20.2% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Florida College, Temple Terrace; Boston University School of Theology, Hillsborough Community College, International Academy of Merchandising and Design, ITT Technical Institute, National Education Center-Tampa Technical Institute Campus, National-Louis University, University of South Florida, University of Tampa, Tampa.

Economy

The per capita income for 1993 was $18,673 (19th highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $28,477. In 1989, 9.5% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 14.6% of personal income was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Hillsborough County employed in the services sector were in business services and medical and other health services. Food and kindred products, printing and publishing, and electrical equipment and supply firms accounted for the most employment in the manufacturing sector. In 1992 there were 2,760 farms in Hillsborough County, totalling 265,443 acres (39% of land in the county). The county's major agricultural products are vegetables, cattle, hogs and pigs, and poultry. In 1991, 3,062,256 pounds of fish and 922,441 pounds of shellfish were landed in Hillsborough County.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $73,100
Median monthly rent 1990: $374
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 11.5
Housing starts 1992: 4,937
Housing starts 1993: 4,935

In 1992 the price level index for Hillsborough County was 100.19 (11th highest in the state).

Local Government

Hillsborough County is a charter county. In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 7.9048, and the total taxable value of property was $25,234,389,126. Taxable sales totalled $9271.00 million in 1992 and $9755.10 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $117,110 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Hillsborough County's revenues totalled $1,267,342 thousand ($1,503.0 per capita) and its expenditures $1,456,422 thousand ($1,727.2 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 57.9% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 53.4% were registered Democrat and 36.4% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 42.1% of the votes were cast for Bush, 37.1% for Clinton, and 20.3% for Perot.

Events and Places of Interest

Hall of Fame Bowl, January, Winter Equestrian Festival, March, Tampa's Jazzin' Jubilee, September, Guavaween Extravaganza, October, Tampa; Florida Strawberry Festival, Plant City, February; Ybor City Fiesta, February; Busch Gardens, Lowry Park Zoo, Museum of Science and Industry, Tampa; Gator Jungle, Plant City; Hyde Park Historic District, Tampa; West Tampa Historic District, Ybor City Historic District, Upper Tampa Archaeological District.