Cape Coral

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Cape Coral
Lee County Florida Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Cape Coral Highlighted.svg
County and state location
Basic data
Foundation : 1957
State : United States
State : Florida
County : Lee County
Coordinates : 26 ° 38 ′  N , 81 ° 59 ′  W Coordinates: 26 ° 38 ′  N , 81 ° 59 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 179,804 (as of 2016)
722,336 (as of 2016)
Population density : 660.1 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 298.1 km 2  (approx. 115 mi 2 ) of
which 272.4 km 2  (approx. 105 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 2 m
Postcodes : 33900-33999
Area code : +1 239
FIPS : 12-10275
GNIS ID : 0279997
Website : www.capecoral.net
Mayor : Joe Coviello

Cape Coral is a city in Lee County in the US state of Florida and with 179,804 inhabitants (as of 2016) the largest city in the county.

geography

Satellite image

Cape Coral is located in southwest Florida on the Gulf of Mexico . The city is separated from Fort Myers by the Caloosahatchee River . Tampa is 190 km and Miami 230 km away. Cape Coral is one of the regional centers of the Cape Coral – Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area .

The urban area has a size of 298.1 km². This makes Cape Coral one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Florida in terms of area. The city is divided into four large squares: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southwest (SW), and Southeast (SE). Two central streets mark the division: Santa Barbara Boulevard runs north-south, Pine Island Road runs east-west. Most of the side streets above Cape Coral Parkway are simply numbered and provided with an addition (Street, Avenue, Terrace, Place, Court, Lane). Only in the area of ​​the Yacht Club do the side streets have their own street names.

climate

The climate is mild and warm, mostly with a light, steady wind from the sea. Statistically, it rains an average of 30% of the days in the summer months, even if only for a short time. The highest temperatures of up to 33 ° C are reached from May to October. The coldest months are from December to February with an average of 24 ° C. Snowfall is almost unknown in the region.

history

Cape Coral is a young city, especially by European standards. The boom began in the late 1950s. In 1957 the "Gulf American Land Corporation" was founded, which set about transforming the land north of the Caloosahatchee River, owned by the brothers Leonard and Jack Rosen, into a true "waterway wonderland". Fallow and pasture land was crisscrossed with canals and roads. In total, Cape Coral now offers 400 miles (640 km) of waterways and canals, some with access to the Gulf of Mexico.

The first houses were built in 1958. Thanks to an active advertising campaign, the city grew rapidly, even if many property buyers soon discovered that the hotly advertised property was miles away from all facilities of civilization and was basically worthless. Others were more fortunate, or obtained more information before buying, and were able to look forward to a piece of land whose value has multiplied over time.

In 1964 the Cape Coral Bridge was built, which connects the city with Fort Myers. Due to the large population growth, another bridge was necessary and completed in 1997. The “Midpoint Bridge” has brought both cities even closer together.

The oldest part of Cape Coral, the "Yacht Club" in the southeastern corner, was created in the 1960s. Other areas followed: the so-called "Gold Coast" in the east, the "Pelican Area" in the south.

In 1970 Cape Coral was registered as a city. The city has now (2007) almost 170,000 inhabitants. In winter, thanks to tourists and the so-called “snow birds” (Americans from the colder north who overwinter in warmer Florida), the population increases by another 20,000.

Religions

In Cape Coral there are currently 60 different churches from 22 different denominations, of which the Baptist congregation is most strongly represented with 8 churches. There are also 14 churches that do not belong to any denomination (as of 2004).

Demographic data

According to the 2010 census, the 154,305 inhabitants at that time were distributed among 78,948 households. The population density was 566.5 inh / km². 88.2% of the population identified themselves as whites , 4.3% as African American , 0.3% as Indians and 1.5% as Asian Americans . 3.4% said they belonged to another ethnic group and 2.3% to several ethnic groups. 19.5% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos .

In 2010 children under the age of 18 lived in 32.3% of all households and persons aged 65 or over lived in 30.7% of all households. 71.6% of the households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or one parent with offspring). The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.92.

24.8% of the population were younger than 20 years, 21.5% were 20 to 39 years old, 29.4% were 40 to 59 years old, and 23.9% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 42 years. 48.8% of the population were male and 51.2% were female.

The median annual income was $ 51,407, with 11.9% of the population living below the poverty line.

In 2000, English was the mother tongue of 87.18% of the population, 7.62% spoke Spanish and 5.20% had another mother tongue.

Economy and Infrastructure

The main branches of employment are: education, health and social affairs (18.5%), trade / retail (16.4%), future technologies, management, administration (10.5%), construction (12.3%).

schools

The largest public schools that also supply the surrounding area are:

  • Oasis Elementary Charter School
  • Skyline Elementary School, approximately 1050 students
  • Diplomat Elementary School, about 1000 students
  • Pelican Elementary School, about 1000 students
  • Caloosa Elementary School, about 1000 students
  • Gulf Elementary School, about 1000 students
  • Cape Elementary School, about 900 students
  • Trafalgar Middle School, about 1,350 students
  • Caloosa Middle School, about 1250 students
  • Gulf Middle School, about 1200 students
  • Diplomat Middle School, about 1200 students
  • Mariner High School, about 1950 students
  • Cape Coral High School, around 1900 students

There are only two small institutions of secondary education in the city, the “Lee County High Tech Center North” with around 120 students, and the “Cape Coral Beauty School”. There are other universities and colleges in Fort Myers , Bradenton , Lakeland , Tampa and Winter Haven .

Clinics

The most famous clinic in town is the Cape Coral Hospital . There are three other large clinics in Fort Myers.

Parks and sports facilities

There is a wide range of different city parks as well as several sporting facilities, as well as playgrounds and opportunities for camping and barbecuing. The most interesting parks are: Jaycee Park, Rotary Park, and Sunsplash Family Waterpark, and Mike Greenwells, a family amusement park. There are also several golf courses. Beach with fishing pier and beach bar.

traffic

Cape Coral is affected by the Tamiami Trail ( US 41 ) and is not far from Interstate 75 . In addition, leading Florida State Road 78 through the city. There are two toll bridges (Midpoint, Northern Bridge & Cape Coral, Southern Bridge) over the Caloosahatchee River to Fort Myers. Since November 1st, 2007 the bridge toll of $ 2.00 (as of 03/2020) has only been levied in one direction, namely from Fort Myers to Cape Coral. The drive from Cape Coral to Fort Myers is not subject to a toll. Cape Coral can be reached by plane via the Southwest Florida International Airport near Fort Myers, about 30 km away .

Web links

Commons : Cape Coral, Florida  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ Language distribution 2000 . Modern Language Association . Retrieved April 11, 2013.