Osceola County Florida   Located in Central Florida

Osceola County Cities

Land area (rank): 1,350 square miles (6)
Population 1993 (rank): 125,675 (25)
Population density 1993 (rank): 93 persons per square mile (31)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 118.6% (3)

Physical Characteristics

Osceola County is south of Orlando, west of Melbourne-Titusville, and east of Lakeland-Winter Haven, and is bordered by Brevard, Orange, Polk, Okeechobee, and Indian River counties The county has 157 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 61.3 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 82.1 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 50.06 inches.

History

Osceola County was established in 1887 from portions of Orange and Brevard counties and named for Osceola, leader of the Seminoles who was captured and imprisoned by General Thomas S. Jesup under a flag of truce.

Population

Until the 1970s nearly two-thirds of the total acreage in Osceola County was in cattle ranching. Growth has occurred since the 1970s because of Walt Disney World, located just across the Orange County boundary. The incorporated place with the greatest population is Kissimmee (population of 32,759 in 1993), followed by St. Cloud with a population of 14,779 in 1993. Development is scheduled to begin in 1994 on Celebration, Disney's planned residential, office, and resort development. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has designated Osceola County (with Orange and Seminole counties) as the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1993, 92% of Osceola County's population was white and 8% was nonwhite. In 1990, 11.9% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 92.2% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate was 15.7 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 7.7 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 5.8 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and chronic obstructive lung disease.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 58.8% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 3.4%. In 1990, 73.7% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 11.2% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by Valencia Community College (Orange County), Florida Bible College, Florida Christian College.

Economy

The per capita income in Osceola County for 1993 was $18,278 (22nd highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $27,260. In 1989, 6.9% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 13.6% of personal income in Osceola County was derived from transfer payments. The leading employers in the services sector were hotels and motels and medical and other health services. In the retail trade sector the leading employers were eating and drinking establishments and food stores. Electrical equipment and supply firms accounted for the greatest employment in the manufacturing sector. In 1992, there were 499 farms in Osceola County, totalling 716,542 acres (83% of land in the county). Osceola County produces lumber, cattle, and poultry as well as citrus.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $75,700
Median monthly rent 1990: $438
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 20.1
Housing starts 1992: 2,809
Housing starts 1993: 2,670

In 1992 the price level index for Osceola County was 97.50 (16th highest in the state).

Local Government

Osceola County is a charter county. In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 6.4945, and the total taxable value of property was $4,782,907,238. Taxable sales totalled $1414.10 million in 1992 and $1424.50 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $20,298 thousand in 1992. In 1990-91 Osceola County's revenues totalled $123,703 thousand ($1,081.2 per capita) and its expenditures $118,818 thousand ($1,038.5 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 65.2% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 47.0% were registered Democrat and 43.1% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 42.3% of the votes were cast for Bush, 33.2% for Clinton, and 24.3% for Perot.

Events and Places of Interest

Silver Spurs Rodeo, February, Bluegrass Festival, March, Boat-A-Cade, June, Osceola Art Festival, Florida State Air Fair, November, Kissimmee; Alligatorland Safari Zoo, Flying Tigers Warbird Air Museum, Medieval Life, Water Mania, Xanadu, Kissimmee; Reptile World Serpentarium, St. Cloud.