Lafayette County Florida   Located in North Florida

Lafayette County Cities

Land area (rank): 545 square miles (57)
Population 1993 (rank): 5,603 (67)
Population density 1993 (rank): 10 persons per square mile (66)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 38.2% (27)

Physical Characteristics

Lafayette County is in north Florida and is bordered by Taylor, Dixie, Gilchrist, Madison, and Suwannee counties. The county has 2 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 58.24 inches.

History

Lafayette County was established from a portion of Madison County in 1856 and named for the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), who was given a township in the Tallahassee area, but who never visited the state.

Population

Lafayette is one of the state's smallest counties, both in size and population. Much of the southern and western portions of the county are in wetlands. In 1993, 83% of Lafayette County's population was in unincorporated areas. The only incorporated place, Mayo, had a 1993 population of 925. In 1993, 86% of Lafayette County's population was white, and 14% was nonwhite. In 1990, 4.1% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 88.5% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate was 12.3 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 14.1 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and suicide.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 78.8% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 8.6%. In 1990, 58.2% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 5.2% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by North Florida Junior College (Madison County).

Economy

The per capita income in Lafayette County for 1993 was $13,703 (53rd highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $20,744. In 1989, 19.2% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 19.6% of personal income in Lafayette County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Lafayette County were employed in the government, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. The major employer in the governmental sector is the Mayo Correctional Institution. Lumber and wood products firms accounted for the greatest employment in the manufacturing sector. In 1992 there were 252 farms in the county, totalling 95,833 acres (27% of land in the county). Lafayette County is a major producer of poultry. In 1991, 16,935 thousand board feet of softwood logs, 96,514 cords of softwood for pulp, and 1,938 cords of hardwood for pulp were produced.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $43,700
Median monthly rent 1990: $175
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 41.4
Housing starts 1992: 28
Housing starts 1993: 34

In 1992 the price level index for Lafayette County was 89.58 (64th highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 10.000, and the total taxable value of property was $86,940,564. Taxable sales totalled $17.00 million in 1992 and $10.10 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $435 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Lafayette County's revenues totalled $3,480 thousand ($613.2 per capita) and its expenditures $3,592 thousand ($633.1 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 79.2% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 95.8% were registered Democrat and 3.7% were registered Republicans. In the 1992 presidential election, 41.1% of the votes were cast for Bush, 34.3% for Clinton, and 24.2% for Perot.