Osceola County, Florida | |
|---|---|
 TheOsceola County Courthouse in October 2009 | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofFlorida | |
| Coordinates:28°04′N81°09′W / 28.06°N 81.15°W /28.06; -81.15 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Florida |
| Founded | May 12, 1887 |
| Named after | Osceola |
| Seat | Kissimmee |
| Largest city | Kissimmee |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,506 sq mi (3,900 km2) |
| • Land | 1,327 sq mi (3,440 km2) |
| • Water | 178 sq mi (460 km2) 11.9% |
| Population | |
• Total | 388,656 |
• Estimate (2024)[2] | 468,058 |
| • Density | 292.9/sq mi (113.1/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 9th |
| Website | www |
Osceola County (/ˌɒsiˈoʊlə/OSS-ee-OH-lə) is acounty located in thecentral portion of theU.S. state ofFlorida. As of the2020 census, the population was 388,656.[1] Itscounty seat isKissimmee.[3] Osceola County is included in theOrlando–Kissimmee–Sanford,Fla.Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Being 54.3% Hispanic, Osceola is one of threeHispanic-majority counties in Florida, owing to its largePuerto Rican American population. It also is the12th-largest majority-Hispanic county in the nation.[4]
Osceola County is named for theNative American leaderOsceola,[5] whose name means "Black Drink Cry [Asi Yaholo]".
Osceola County was created in 1887. On July 21, 1821, Florida was divided into two counties, namedEscambia County to the west andSt. John's County to the east. In 1824, the southern part of St. John's County becameMosquito County, withEnterprise as thecounty seat. In 1844,Brevard County was carved out from Mosquito County. When Florida became a state in 1845, Mosquito County was renamedOrange County. On May 12, 1887, Osceola was named a county, having been created from both Orange and Brevard Counties. Osceola County reached all the way down toLake Okeechobee until 1917 whenOkeechobee County was formed.
Since the late 20th century, Osceola County has experienced a significant influx of migrants from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the unincorporated territory of the United States,[6] and in the2000 U.S. census Puerto Rican was the largest self-reported ancestry group.[7]
Osceola County is acharter county and a subdivision within the State of Florida. Voters approved the County Charter in March 1992, and it took effect on October 1, 1992. The structure of County government under the charter does not depart dramatically from the structure of a County government outlined in theFlorida Statutes.
Osceola County Government is governed by three sets ofelectedofficials, each of which independently directs separate branches of County Government. These include: the five-member County Commission, five separate Constitutional Officers, and a number of Judicial Officers. Under State law, the County Commission is responsible for funding the budgets of all Osceola County Government, including the independently elected Constitutional Officers and Judicial Officers, as well as the Commission's own departments. Each independent officer has discretion to administer his or her own programs. The County Commission exercises oversight only over its own departments.
Osceola County has five electoral districts each represented by a commissioner. All the commissioners compose the Board of Commissioners that appoint a County Manager. There also is a Commission Auditor and County Attorney.
Osceola County was aRepublican stronghold in presidential elections from about 1950 up until 1996, whenBill Clinton carried Florida with a plurality. It swung back to supportGeorge W. Bush in 2004, but then heavily supported DemocratBarack Obama in 2008, and up until 2024 it had supported Democrats by large margins. In 2024 the county swung back to support RepublicanDonald Trump, mirroring trends seen in the rest of the state of Florida.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 0 | 0.00% | 259 | 94.18% | 16 | 5.82% |
| 1896 | 118 | 28.78% | 274 | 66.83% | 18 | 4.39% |
| 1900 | 42 | 11.29% | 266 | 71.51% | 64 | 17.20% |
| 1904 | 65 | 18.41% | 271 | 76.77% | 17 | 4.82% |
| 1908 | 81 | 24.11% | 193 | 57.44% | 62 | 18.45% |
| 1912 | 110 | 12.37% | 512 | 57.59% | 267 | 30.03% |
| 1916 | 453 | 38.98% | 511 | 43.98% | 198 | 17.04% |
| 1920 | 1,035 | 55.32% | 728 | 38.91% | 108 | 5.77% |
| 1924 | 589 | 33.45% | 884 | 50.20% | 288 | 16.35% |
| 1928 | 1,760 | 60.25% | 1,127 | 38.58% | 34 | 1.16% |
| 1932 | 906 | 35.36% | 1,656 | 64.64% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 1,101 | 40.43% | 1,622 | 59.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 1,428 | 41.48% | 2,015 | 58.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 1,400 | 44.26% | 1,763 | 55.74% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 1,575 | 44.59% | 1,577 | 44.65% | 380 | 10.76% |
| 1952 | 3,133 | 62.25% | 1,900 | 37.75% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 3,602 | 65.19% | 1,923 | 34.81% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 4,691 | 68.29% | 2,178 | 31.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 4,516 | 56.12% | 3,531 | 43.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 4,172 | 43.90% | 1,870 | 19.68% | 3,462 | 36.43% |
| 1972 | 9,320 | 82.94% | 1,875 | 16.69% | 42 | 0.37% |
| 1976 | 7,062 | 49.82% | 6,893 | 48.63% | 220 | 1.55% |
| 1980 | 10,863 | 59.67% | 6,603 | 36.27% | 739 | 4.06% |
| 1984 | 18,348 | 73.45% | 6,628 | 26.53% | 4 | 0.02% |
| 1988 | 21,355 | 68.05% | 9,812 | 31.27% | 214 | 0.68% |
| 1992 | 19,143 | 42.29% | 15,010 | 33.16% | 11,114 | 24.55% |
| 1996 | 18,337 | 39.44% | 21,874 | 47.05% | 6,280 | 13.51% |
| 2000 | 26,237 | 47.11% | 28,187 | 50.61% | 1,266 | 2.27% |
| 2004 | 43,117 | 52.45% | 38,633 | 47.00% | 454 | 0.55% |
| 2008 | 40,086 | 39.72% | 59,962 | 59.41% | 877 | 0.87% |
| 2012 | 40,592 | 37.27% | 67,239 | 61.73% | 1,091 | 1.00% |
| 2016 | 50,301 | 35.56% | 85,458 | 60.41% | 5,709 | 4.04% |
| 2020 | 73,480 | 42.53% | 97,297 | 56.31% | 2,007 | 1.16% |
| 2024 | 86,713 | 50.04% | 84,205 | 48.59% | 2,371 | 1.37% |
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,506 square miles (3,900 km2), of which 1,327 square miles (3,440 km2) is land and 178 square miles (460 km2) (11.9%) is water.[9]
CSX's A-line, formerly theAtlantic Coast Line Railroad mainline, and originally built by theSouth Florida Railroad in the 1880s, runs through the urbanized northern part of the county. CSX has leased the line to theFDOT. Intercity passenger service is provided by Amtrak atKissimmee station and commuter passenger service is operated bySunRail, with stops atTupperware station and Kissimmee Amtrak in Kissimmee, as well asPoinciana station north ofPoinciana.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 3,133 | — | |
| 1900 | 3,444 | 9.9% | |
| 1910 | 5,507 | 59.9% | |
| 1920 | 7,195 | 30.7% | |
| 1930 | 10,699 | 48.7% | |
| 1940 | 10,119 | −5.4% | |
| 1950 | 11,406 | 12.7% | |
| 1960 | 19,029 | 66.8% | |
| 1970 | 25,267 | 32.8% | |
| 1980 | 49,287 | 95.1% | |
| 1990 | 107,728 | [10] | 118.6% |
| 2000 | 172,493 | [10] | 60.1% |
| 2010 | 268,685 | [1] | 55.8% |
| 2020 | 388,656 | 44.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 468,058 | [2] | 20.4% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11][failed verification] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[14] | Pop 1990[15] | Pop 2000[16] | Pop 2010[17] | Pop 2020[18] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 44,682 | 87,439 | 102,792 | 108,292 | 113,362 | 90.66% | 81.17% | 59.59% | 40.30% | 29.17% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 3,003 | 5,452 | 11,075 | 24,503 | 35,145 | 6.09% | 5.06% | 6.42% | 9.12% | 9.04% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 119 | 326 | 519 | 596 | 562 | 0.24% | 0.30% | 0.30% | 0.22% | 0.14% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 284 | 1,558 | 3,721 | 7,120 | 11,370 | 0.58% | 1.45% | 2.16% | 2.65% | 2.93% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | x[19] | x[20] | 97 | 229 | 240 | x | x | 0.06% | 0.09% | 0.06% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 110 | 87 | 535 | 1,393 | 4,218 | 0.22% | 0.08% | 0.31% | 0.52% | 1.09% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x[21] | x[22] | 3,027 | 4,406 | 12,670 | x | x | 1.75% | 1.64% | 3.26% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,089 | 12,866 | 50,727 | 122,146 | 211,089 | 2.21% | 11.94% | 29.41% | 45.46% | 54.31% |
| Total | 49,287 | 107,728 | 172,493 | 268,685 | 388,656 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 388,656. The median age was 37.6 years, with 23.4% of residents under the age of 18 and 14.1% of residents aged 65 years or older. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.3 males age 18 and over. There were 130,574 households in the county, of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.0% were married-couple households, 14.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[23]
The majority of Hispanics/Latinos in the county are Puerto Ricans, who account for an estimated 33.7% of the population and are the largest ancestral group in the county.[24]
The racial makeup of the county was 40.6%White, 10.5%Black or African American, 0.6%American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.0%Asian, 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 20.1% from some other race, and 25.1% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 54.3% of the population.[25]
93.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.3% lived in rural areas.[26]
There were 154,680 housing units, of which 15.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 62.5% were owner-occupied and 37.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.6%.[23]
38.2% of the county population is affiliated with a religious congregation. There are 206 or more religious congregations in the county. 16.5% areCatholic; 1.3% areMormons; 3.5% areBaptist, 3.7% arePentecostal, 1.4% areMethodist, 8.3% are members of otherChristian faiths, 0.1% areJewish, 0.2% affiliate with an eastern faith, and 3.2% affiliate withIslam.
As of the2010 census, there were 111,539 households; 57% were married couples living together, 23% had a female householder with no spouse present, 7% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 13% were non-families. The average household size was 3.4 persons per household.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 12% being 0 to 9 years old, 15% 10 to 19, 14% 20 to 29, 15% from 30 to 39, 13% from 40 to 49, 11% 50 to 59, and 19% who were 60 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,279. Theper capita income for the county was $22,196. About 13.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.
TheSchool District of Osceola County, Florida serves the county. The county is home to 59 schools, not including colleges.[27]
There are currently six branches of the Osceola County Library System:
The Hart Memorial Library is home to the Ray Shanks Law Library, and TechCentral the library system's "creative space".[28]
Until 1989, there was no independent Osceola Library System. Instead, Osceola patrons were taken care of by Orange County Library System. Before that, there were two libraries, which are still named after the original independent libraries, run by women's organizations: Veteran's Memorial in Saint Cloud and Hart Memorial Library in Kissimmee.
In 1910, land for the Hart Memorial Library was donated by a widow of a former Florida Governor, Carrie S. Hart. It was located on North Stewart Avenue in Kissimmee . In 1914, women pooled money together from themselves and other community members to build the actual building and Annie Palmer Fell, another widow of a prominent Florida man, donated furnishings and books from her personal collection to begin building inventory in the new library. In 1968, the location moved to a 4,000 square foot building on Broadway and Dakin. Hart Memorial Library is the Osceola headquarters and is now located in a 43,000 square building .
Veteran's Memorial Library was at first a reading room until enough funds were raised to build the first official location on Massachusetts Avenue in Saint Cloud. In the early 70's the location moved to a former SunBank location on 10th Street and New York Avenue. In 1995, this branch moved for its final time to a larger building on Indiana Avenue and 13th street where it is still located today.
The first Poinciana Branch was opened in 1988. It was a modular building and consisted of a 14,000 book collection. This branch was eventually moved into a larger location with a collection of 40,000 books and computer access for patrons.
Osceola Library Systems began as an independent organization on April 1, 1989.
In 1990, the Buenaventura Library opened.
In 1991, volunteers helped open the Kenansville Branch Library in a shared space with the old Kenansville school. During the 2004 hurricanes, the collection was a total loss. It was rebuilt in 2007 with a larger collection, including books, DVDs, and computer/wifi access.[29][30]
Back in 2009, there were plans to create a new city namedDestiny near the intersection of theFlorida Turnpike andUS 441. The project was halted by TheFlorida Department of Community Affairs after concerns that there would be massurban sprawl. The area is now a reserve named after the city's planner,Fred DeLuca. If finished, the city would've had an expected population of 250,000.
Places adjacent to Osceola County, Florida | |
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Municipalities and communities ofOsceola County, Florida,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
