| Official Name: | City of Okeechobee |
| Okeechobee, Florida | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Florida |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Okeechobee |
| Government Type: | Mayor-Council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Dowling R. Watford, Jr. |
| Leader Title1: | Vice Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Monica Clark |
| Leader Title2: | Council Members |
| Leader Name2: | Noel Chandler, Bob Jarriel, and David McAuley |
| Leader Title3: | City Administrator |
| Leader Name3: | Gary Ritter |
| Leader Title4: | City Clerk |
| Leader Name4: | Lane Gamiotea |
| Established Title3: | Incorporated |
| Established Date3: | June 4, 1915[1] [2] |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 10.76 |
| Area Land Km2: | 10.50 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.25 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 4.15 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 4.06 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.10 |
| Area Water Percent: | 0.96 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 5254 |
| Population Density Km2: | 500.20 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1295.36 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 27.2439°N -80.8214°W |
| Elevation M: | 8 |
| Elevation Ft: | 26 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 34972-34974 |
| Area Code: | 863 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 12-51200[4] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0288073 |
| Website: | http://www.cityofokeechobee.com |
Okeechobee ([5]) is a city in and the county seat of Okeechobee County, Florida, United States.[6] As of the 2020 US census, the city's population was 5,254.
The Lake Okeechobee area was severely damaged in the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the first recorded Category 5 hurricane in the North Atlantic. This was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the US.
Okeechobee is served by the Okeechobee County Airport.
Okeechobee is close to the site of the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, a major battle of the Second Seminole War, fought between forces under the command of Zachary Taylor and Seminole warriors resisting forced removal to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. (This territory was later admitted as the state of Oklahoma in 1907.)
From 1918 to 1929, the international drink company Coca-Cola had a plant to bottle their drinks in Okeechobee in the current location of Jersey Mike’s Subs .Damages sustained from the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane was the primary reason they stopped bottling in Okeechobee.
In the 1930s, Okeechobee was the commercial center for the surrounding area, shipping hundreds of train cars of winter vegetables annually. It had poultry farms, a catfish shipping plant, and a bullfrog breeding industry.[7]
The Florida guide described bullfrog breeding in the Okeechobee region:
The exact coordinates for the location of City of Okeechobee is at 27.2439°N -80.8214°W.
Okeechobee is located just north of Lake Okeechobee. Taylor Creek flows through the east side of the town. The area is served by US routes 98 and 441 and state routes 70, 700 and 15.[8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2sqmi, of which 4.1sqmi is land and 0.04sqmi (0.96%) is water.
Okeechobee has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), bordering within one degree of a tropical climate with hot, humid summers and warm, drier winters.
| White (NH) | 3,524 | 3,196 | 62.69% | 60.83% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 496 | 502 | 8.82% | 9.55% |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 58 | 40 | 1.03% | 0.76% |
| Asian (NH) | 46 | 71 | 0.82% | 1.35% |
| Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH) | 2 | 2 | 0.04% | 0.04% |
| Some other race (NH) | 7 | 18 | 0.12% | 0.34% |
| Two or more races/Multiracial (NH) | 70 | 165 | 1.25% | 3.14% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,418 | 1,260 | 25.23% | 23.98% |
| Total | 5,621 | 5,254 | ||
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,254 people, 1,814 households, and 1,316 families residing in the city.[11]
Of the city's population in 2020, 6.7% were under 5 years old, 22.5% were under 18 years old, and 17.0% were 65 years and over. 47.7% of the population was female. There were 383 veterans living in the city and 14% were foreign-born persons.[12]
In 2020, the median household income was $40,149 with a per capita income of $21,449. 21.8% of the population lived below the poverty threshold.[12]
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 5,621 people, 1,839 households, and 1,152 families residing in the city.[13]
On 25 December 1837, Lake Okeechobee became the site of an important battle in the Second Seminole War, fought between a number of Seminole Native American groups, the United States government, and allied militias. The battlefield is now the site of a 145acres park, and annual reenactments.[14]
In 2016, the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival was organized for the first time. This multi-day, multi-genre music festival attracted approximately 30,000 people to the city in its first year.[15] The annual festival has continued since then, and is planned for 2023.