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Highlands County, Florida
Highlands County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Founded	April 23, 1921
Named for	county's terrain
Seat	Sebring
Largest city	Sebring
Area
• Total	1,106 sq mi (2,865 km2)
• Land	1,017 sq mi (2,634 km2)
• Water	89 sq mi (231 km2), 8.1%
Population (est.)
• (2017)	102,883[1]
• Density	101/sq mi (39/km2)
Congressional district	17th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC−5/−4
Website	www.hcbcc.net

Highlands County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,786.^[2] Its county seat is Sebring.^[3]

Highlands County comprises the Sebring, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Highlands County was created in 1921 along with Charlotte, Glades, and Hardee, when they were separated from DeSoto County. It was named for the terrain of the county. It boasted the fifth-oldest population in America in 2012.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,106 square miles (2,860 km²), of which 1,017 square miles (2,630 km²) is land and 89 square miles (230 km²) (8.1%) is water.^[4][5] In area, it is the 14th largest county in Florida. Highlands County is bounded on the east by the Kissimmee River. Lake Istokpoga, the largest lake in the county, is connected to the Kissimmee River by two canals; the Istokpoga canal, and the C41 (outflow) canal.

Adjacent counties

• 
  Osceola County, Florida - northeast


• 
  Okeechobee County, Florida - east


• 
  Glades County, Florida - south


• 
  Charlotte County, Florida - southwest


• 
  DeSoto County, Florida - west


• 
  Hardee County, Florida - west


• 
  Polk County, Florida - north

National protected area

• 
  Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of 2015, there were 99,491 people and 39,931 households residing in the county. The population density was 97.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 85.8% White, 10.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.6% from two or more races. 18.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 51.3% of the entire population are female. The median household income was $35,560 with 20.1% of the population being below the poverty level from 2009-2013.^[11] The poverty line for Florida was $11,490 in 2013.^[12]

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 87,366 people, 37,471 households, and 25,780 families residing in the county. The population density was 85.00 people per square mile (32.82/km²). There were 48,846 housing units at an average density of 47.5 per square mile (18.34/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.47% White, 9.33% Black or African American, 0.44% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.14% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. 12.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000 there were 37,471 households out of which 20.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.70.

In the county, the population was spread out with 19.20% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 19.30% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 33.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,160, and the median income for a family was $35,647. Males had a median income of $26,811 versus $20,725 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,222. About 10.20% of families and 15.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.60% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Highways

• U.S. Route 27


• State Road 17


• U.S. Route 98


• State Road 70

Airports

• 
  Sebring Regional Airport (KSEF)


• 
  Avon Park Executive Airport (KAVO)

Rail

• 
  CSX Transportation (CSXT)


• 
  Amtrak (AMTK)

Government

Highlands County is governed by five elected County Commissioners and an appointed County Administrator. The administrator has executive powers to implement all decisions, ordinances, motions, and policies/procedures set forth by the Board. The FY 2013-2014 adopted budget of the county is approximately $123 million and the county employees over 350 people in 31 departments of the administration. Other organizations of the county include, the Clerk of Courts with about 75 positions, Sheriff's Office with about 340 positions, County Appraisers Office with about 30 positions, Tax Collectors Office with about 40 positions, and Elections Office with 5 positions. In all there are about 860 positions in Highlands County government.

Law Enforcement

Politics

Highlands County, like the relatively nearby southwest coast, is strongly Republican: the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Harry Truman in 1948.^[14] Like North Florida, but unlike the southwest coast, George Wallace was able to outpoll the Democratic Party here in 1968,^[15] and only in 1992 and 1996 has the Republican candidate not won an absolute majority since then.

Economy

Top employers

The top private employers of Highlands County are as follows:^[16]
1. Florida Hospital (1500)

2. Walmart (796)

3. Agero (600)

4. Highlands Regional Medical Center (413)

5. Delray Plants (350)

6. Palms of Sebring (257)

7. Alan Jay Automotive Network (250)

8. Lake Placid Health Care (210)

9. Positive Medical Transport (150)

10. E-Stone USA (87)

Libraries

Highlands County is part of the Heartland Library Cooperative which has 7 branches that serve Highlands County and some of the surrounding counties in the Florida Heartland, including Glades, DeSoto, Hardee, and Okeechobee.

• Avon Park


• DeSoto


• Glades


• Hardee


• Lake Placid


• Okeechobee


• Sebring

Communities

Cities

• Avon Park


• Sebring

Town

• Lake Placid

Unincorporated communities

See also

• Florida Heartland


• Lake Denton


• National Register of Historic Places listings in Highlands County, Florida

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Highlands County, Florida.

Government links/Constitutional offices

• 
  Highlands County Board of County Commissioners official website


• Highlands County Supervisor of Elections


• Highlands County Property Appraiser


• Highlands County Tax Collector


• Florida DOT Highlands county General Highway Map

Special districts

• Highlands County Public Schools


• South Florida Water Management District


• Southwest Florida Water Management District


• Heartland Library Cooperative

Judicial branch

• Highlands County Clerk of Courts


• 
  Public Defender, 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties


• 
  Office of the State Attorney, 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida^{[permanent dead link]}
  


• Circuit and County Court for the 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

• Highlands County Convention and Visitors Bureau


• Highlands Hammock State Park

Coordinates: 27°20′N 81°20′W / 27.34°N 81.34°W / 27.34; -81.34