Bay County, Florida Explained

County:Bay County
State:Florida
Flag:Flag of Bay County, Florida.svg
Seal:Seal of Bay County, Florida.svg
Founded Year:1913
Founded Date:April 24
Seat Wl:Panama City
Largest City Wl:Panama City
Area Total Sq Mi:1033
Area Land Sq Mi:758
Area Water Sq Mi:275
Area Percentage:26.6%
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:175216
Density Sq Mi:231
Time Zone:Central
Web:http://www.co.bay.fl.us/
Ex Image:PC Bay Cnty crths01.jpg
Ex Image Size:220px
Ex Image Cap:The Bay County Courthouse in March 2008
District:2nd
Named For:St. Andrews Bay

Bay County is a county on the Emerald Coast in Northwest Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 175,216. Its county seat is Panama City.[1]

Bay County is included in the Panama City, Florida metropolitan area.

History

On February 12, 1913, representatives from five towns on St. Andrews Bay met in Panama City to select a name for a proposed new county. The name Bay was selected because it was satisfactory to the majority of the citizens and descriptive of the territory that would be included. On July 1, 1913, the Legislature created Bay County from portions of Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.

Panama City was where Gideon v. Wainwright, a 1963 US Supreme Court decision that gave all persons accused of a crime the right to an attorney paid for by the government, originated.[2]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.[3]

Bay County is included in the Panama City, Florida metropolitan area along with Washington County.[4]

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Bay County racial composition as of 2020
(NH = Non-Hispanic)!Race!Pop 2010[5] !Pop 2020[6] !% 2010!% 2020
White (NH)133,790128,34879.24%73.25%
Black or African American (NH)17,84417,54910.57%10.02%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)1,0337950.61%0.45%
Asian (NH)3,2984,0681.95%2.32%
Pacific Islander (NH)1401940.08%0.11%
Some Other Race (NH)2237200.13%0.41%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)4,4179,6962.62%5.53%
Hispanic or Latino8,10713,8464.8%7.9%
Total168,852175,216100.00%100.00%
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 175,216 people, 73,536 households, and 47,432 families residing in the county.

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 148,217 people, 59,597 households, and 40,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 194/mi2. There were 78,435 housing units at an average density of 103/mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 10.64% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. 2.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 59,597 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,092, and the median income for a family was $42,729. Males had a median income of $30,116 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,700. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Elected Officials

Bay County Government
Sheriff Tommy Ford [8] Republican
Tax Collector Chuck Perdue Republican
Clerk of the Court Bill Kinsaul Republican
Supervisor of Elections Mark Anderson Republican
Superintendent of Schools Mark McQueen (appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis) Republican
Property Appraiser Dan Sowell Republican

Board of Commissioners

5 members, elected from districts (zero Democrats, five Republicans)[9]

District Commissioner Party Positions
1 Tommy Hamm Republican Chair of the County Commission
2 Robert Carroll Republican
3 Bill Dozier Republican
4 Doug Moore Republican Vice Chair of the County Commission
5 Clair Pease Republican

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans are a majority of the registered voters in Bay County.

Bay County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment [10]
Political PartyTotal VotersPercentage
Republicanalign = center 66,358 align = center 53.51%
Democraticalign = center 27,605align = center 22.26%
Independentalign = center 27,524align = center 22.20%
Other Parties align = center 2,508align = center 2.02%
Totalalign = center 123,995align = center 100%

Statewide elections

Previous gubernatorial elections results
YearRepublicanDemocraticThird parties
202278.38% 52,59021.00% 14,0910.61% 412
201872.17% 45,70926.46% 16,7571.37% 865
201471.79% 40,95622.77% 12,9905.44% 3,104
201066.39% 36,51228.53% 15,6895.08% 2,796
200665.26% 31,38230.78% 14,8023.96% 1,907
200270.02% 34,10729.27% 14,2580.71% 344
199869.01% 26,75930.99% 12,0170.00% 2
199456.87% 23,49843.12% 17,8160.01% 2

Education

Bay District Schools operates public schools serving all portions of the county except Mexico Beach, which is served by Gulf County Schools.[11] [12] [13]

Schools in Bay County

Pre-K – 12 schools

Deane Bozeman School

North Bay Haven Charter Academy

Palm Bay Preparatory Academy

Rising Leaders Academy

PreK-8 Schools

Breakfast Point Academy

Bay Haven Charter Academy

University Academy

High schools

Zoned

J. R. Arnold High School (Panama City Beach)

Bay High School (Panama City)

A. Crawford Mosley High School (Lynn Haven)

Rutherford High School (Springfield)

Optional

A.D. Harris High School (Panama City)

Haney Technical High School (Panama City)

New Horizons Learning Center (Lynn Haven)

Rosenwald High School (Panama City)

Middle schools

Jinks Middle School

Merritt Brown Middle School

Mowat Middle School

Surfside Middle School (Panama City Beach)

Elementary schools

Callaway Elementary School

Cedar Grove Elementary School

Deer Point Elementary School Hiland Park Elementary School

Hutchison Beach Elementary School (Panama City Beach)

Lucille Moore Elementary School

Lynn Haven Elementary School

M. Cherry Street Elementary School

Millville Elementary School

Northside Elementary School

Oakland Terrace Elementary School

Parker Elementary School

Patronis Elementary School (Panama City Beach)

Patterson Elementary School

Southport Elementary School

St. Andrew Elementary School

Tommy Smith Elementary School

Tyndall Elementary School

Waller Elementary School

West Bay Elementary School

Public transportation

Major highways

See also: List of county roads in Bay County, Florida. Bay County does not have any interstate connections; the nearest connection is with I-10 at US-231 near Cottondale.

Airports

The Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport opened for commercial flights in 2010. It connects the region to several major airports in the South and Midwest.

Public surface transportation

The county operates the Bayway (formerly Bay Town Trolley), which runs several routes in and around Panama City. The county also have a greyhound in Panama City.[14]

Library

Bay County is part of the Northwest Regional Library System[15] (NWRLS), which also serves Gulf and Liberty Counties. The Bay County Public Library is the headquarters library for the system. The Bay County Board of Commissioners is the system's governing authority and single administrative unit.[16]

Locations:

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Former Census-designated places

See also

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Special districts

Judicial branch

Tourism links

News media

30.24°N -85.63°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Find a County . June 7, 2011 . National Association of Counties . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120712220218/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . July 12, 2012 .
  2. Web site: Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963). Justia Law.
  3. Web site: US Gazetteer files: 2020: Florida Counties Gazeteer File. United States Census Bureau. May 8, 2020. 2020.
  4. Web site: July 21, 2023 . Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Guidance on the Uses of the Delineations of These Areas . July 27, 2023 . Executive Office of the President . 66.
  5. Web site: Explore Census Data . May 27, 2022 . data.census.gov.
  6. Web site: Explore Census Data . May 27, 2022 . data.census.gov.
  7. Web site: U.S. Census website . . May 14, 2011 .
  8. Web site: New era for Bay County: Tommy Ford sworn-in as Sheriff. Tiffany. Jackson. August 7, 2016. August 13, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160808172148/http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/new-era-for-bay-county-tommy-ford-sworn-in-as-sheriff. August 8, 2016. dead.
  9. Web site: Country Commissioners Bay County, FL . December 17, 2023 . Bay County Florida.
  10. Web site: Voter Registration - Current by County - Division of Elections - Florida Department of State. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20161024133158/http://dos.myflorida.com/elections/data-statistics/voter-registration-statistics/voter-registration-monthly-reports/voter-registration-current-by-county/. October 24, 2016.
  11. "Bay District Schools High School Attendance Zones ." Bay District Schools. Accessed October 10, 2008.
  12. "Bay District Schools Middle School Attendance Zones ." Bay District Schools. Accessed October 10, 2008.
  13. "Bay District Schools Elementary School Attendance Zones ." Bay District Schools. Accessed October 10, 2008.
  14. Web site: Routes | Bay Town Trolley . November 26, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203011455/http://v2.baytowntrolley.org/routes/ . December 3, 2013 .
  15. Web site: Archived copy . October 30, 2013 . November 1, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131101174141/http://www.nwrls.com/locations_text.html . dead .
  16. Web site: Long-Range Plan & Mission . March 14, 2021.
  17. Web site: Bay County Law Library . March 14, 2021.