Pasco County Florida   Located in West Florida

Pasco County Cities

Land area (rank): 738 square miles ( 31)
Population 1993 (rank): 293,966 (13)
Population density 1993 (rank): 398 persons per square mile (13)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 45.2% (20)

Physical Characteristics

Pasco County is on the Gulf of Mexico, north of the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, and is bordered by Hernando, Sumter, Polk, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties. The county has 31 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 60.3 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.1 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 55.00 inches.

History

Pasco County was established in 1887 from a portion of Hernando County and named for Samuel Pasco of Monticello, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives at the time the county was created and later a U.S. senator.

Population

In 1993 nearly 90% of Pasco County's population was in unincorporated areas. The unincorporated population increased nearly fourfold between 1970 and 1987. Unincorporated places that experienced the greatest increases in population in the 80s were Bayonet Point, New Port Richey East, and Jasmine Estates. Among incorporated areas New Port Richey had the greatest population in 1993 (14,352), more than double its 1970 population. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has designated Pasco County (with Hillsborough, Hernando, and Pinellas counties) as the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 1993, 97% of Pasco County's population was white and 3% was nonwhite. In 1990, 3.3% 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 10.0 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 15.3 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 7.9 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 62.7% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate was 4.2%. In 1990, 66.9% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 9.1% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Pasco-Hernando Community College, Dade City; St. Leo College, St. Leo; Trinity College of Florida, Holiday; Webster College Center, Port Richey.

Economy

The per capita income in Pasco County for 1993 was $15,182 (40th highest in the state). The median household income in 1989 was $21,480. In 1989, 7.9% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 26.0% of personal income in Pasco County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Pasco County were employed in the retail trade, services, and government sectors. The largest employers in the retail trade sector were eating and drinking establishments and food stores. In the services sector the leading employers were medical and other health services, amusement and recreation services, and business services. Lumber and wood products firms and stone, clay, and glass producers accounted for the greatest employment in the manufacturing sector. In 1992 there were 922 farms in Pasco County, totalling 221,232 acres (47% of land in the county). The county's leading agricultural products are tomatoes and poultry. In 1991, 826,170 pounds of fish and 278,556 pounds of shellfish were landed.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $59,000
Median monthly rent 1990: $329
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 27.1
Housing starts 1992: 1,790
Housing starts 1993: 2,101

In 1992, the price level index for Pasco County was 94.84 (24th highest in the state).

Local Government

In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 8.7800, and the total taxable value of property was $6,998,117,047. Taxable sales totalled $1659.70 million in 1992 and $1823.60 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $42,918 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Pasco County's revenues totalled $194,858 thousand ($682.7 per capita) and its expenditures $252,732 thousand ($885.5 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 71.2% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 47.4% were registered Democrat and 43.4% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election 39.1% of the votes were cast for Clinton, 35.1% for Bush, and 25.5% for Perot.

Events of Interest

Annual Senior Citizens Day Parade and Festival, Zephyrhills, January; Rattlesnake Festival, San Antonio, October.