Gulf Breeze, Florida
Gulf Breeze, Florida | |
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Entrance sign and median in Gulf Breeze, FL heading East on Hwy 98, July 2013 | |
![]() Seal | |
![]() Location in Santa Rosa County and the state of Florida | |
Coordinates: 30°21′25.7184″N 87°9′49.8846″W / 30.357144000°N 87.163856833°WCoordinates: 30°21′25.7184″N 87°9′49.8846″W / 30.357144000°N 87.163856833°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
County | Santa Rosa |
Settled | 1875 |
Founded (as Gulf Breeze) | 1935 Originally named Casablanca as only house visible from mainland Pensacola was white. |
Incorporated (city) | August 10, 1961 |
Founded by | The Duncan Family |
Government | |
• Mayor | Cherry Fitch |
• City Manager | Samantha Abell |
Area | |
• City | 22.14 sq mi (57.34 km2) |
• Land | 4.68 sq mi (12.12 km2) |
• Water | 17.46 sq mi (45.22 km2) |
Elevation | 16 ft (5 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• City | 5,763 |
• Estimate (2019)[2] | 6,900 |
• Density | 1,474.04/sq mi (569.17/km2) |
• Metro | 461,227 (Pensacola metropolitan area) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Area code(s) | 850 |
FIPS code | 12-28000[3] |
GNIS feature ID | 0283485[4] |
Website | http://www.cityofgulfbreeze.com |
Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population estimate was 6,716 in 2018. Gulf Breeze is located just north of Pensacola Beach, and south of Pensacola. Gulf Breeze is on the Fairpoint Peninsula, and is bordered by Navarre to the east. It is an affluent bedroom community, and has the highest household income in metropolitan Pensacola.
Gulf Breeze provides utility services to South Santa Rosa County and Pensacola Beach over 33 square miles. The surrounding unincorporated area is known as Greater Gulf Breeze. Gulf Breeze schools are nationally ranked. The City is ranked as a very safe place to live with low crime, by niche.com and crimegrade.org. The City is often recognized for its high quality of life. In 2021, Gulf Breeze ranked #1 as a place to live and the overall quality of life by the National Research Center’s National Community Survey.
Geography and climate[]
Gulf Breeze is located at 30°21′36″N 87°10′41″W / 30.36000°N 87.17806°W (30.359933, -87.178190).[5]
The city has a total area of 23.56 square miles (61.0 km2), of which 4.68 square miles (12.1 km2) is land and 18.88 square miles (48.9 km2) is water.[6]
Growth of the city itself is geographically restricted, surrounded by major water bodies on three sides; the eastern portion of Gulf Breeze is occupied by the Naval Live Oaks Reservation. As a result, new growth takes place east of the city limits along U.S. Highway 98.
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Points of interest[]
In 1828 the U.S. government purchased the land encompassing the Naval Live Oaks Reservation for experimenting with acorns for the cultivation of live oaks to produce wooden ships. Before the Civil War, the wood of the live oak was the primary material of choice for shipbuilders, thus the protection and cultivation of the trees for the United States Navy was considered vital for defense in those turbulent times.
Currently, the land comprises over 1,300 acres (530 ha) in Gulf Islands National Seashore and is supervised by the National Park Service. To the south of Highway 98 is a visitor's center for the Gulf Islands National Seashore and several public beach areas.
Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven islands.
The seashore’s Florida district features offshore barrier islands with sparkling white quartz sand beaches (along miles of undeveloped land), historic fortifications, and nature trails.
The Gulf Breeze Zoo is a 50-acre (20 ha) site that includes hundreds of animals, a boardwalk overlooking a free range preserve, CP Huntington style train, as well as other amenities. The zoo features various events throughout the year including Boo at the Zoo and Zoo Lights.[7]
Demographics[]
Historical population | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1970 | 4,190 | — | |
1980 | 5,478 | 30.7% | |
1990 | 5,530 | 0.9% | |
2000 | 5,665 | 2.4% | |
2010 | 5,763 | 1.7% | |
2019 (est.) | 6,900 | [2] | 19.7% |
U.S. Decennial Census[8] |
As of the 2010 Census, there were 5,763 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 95.7% white, 0.3% black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska native, 1.4% Asian, 0.5% some other race, 1.3% two or more races, and 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, of any race.
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 5,665 people, 2,377 households, and 1,678 families living in the city. The population density was 1,192.0 people per square mile (460.5/km2). There were 2,553 housing units at an average density of 537.2 per square mile (207.5/km2).
There were 2,377 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $52,522, and the median income for a family was $61,661. Males had a median income of $44,408 versus $28,159 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,688. About 3.8% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.
Public transportation[]
Gulf Breeze is served by route 61 of Escambia County Area Transit.[9][10]
Schools[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Florida-Pensacola-map-legend-X-6-1756-FAA.gif/420px-Florida-Pensacola-map-legend-X-6-1756-FAA.gif)
- Gulf Breeze High School (website)
- Gulf Breeze Middle School
- Gulf Breeze Elementary School (website)
- Oriole Beach Elementary School
- Woodlawn Beach Middle School (website)
Notable people[]
- Bob Armstrong, professional wrestler (originally from Marietta, Georgia; longtime resident).
- Doug Baldwin, American football player.
- Ashley Brown, American singer and actress.
- Ben Lively, baseball player, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.
- Jason McKie, American football player.
- Frank Spellman (1922–2017), Olympic champion weightlifter
- Abigail Spencer, actress; born and raised in Gulf Breeze.[11]
- Adrian Street, professional wrestler (longtime resident).
- Bruce Smith, notable procurement specialist (originally from Pensacola).
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "2018 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 19, 2019.
- ^ "Gulf Breeze Zoo". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2013-11-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Route Map". www.goecat.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Abigail Spencer Biography". www.buddytv.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
External links[]
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gulf Breeze. |
- The Gulf Breeze Zoo — the regional zoo.
- Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce — the area's chamber of commerce
- Populated places on the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida
- Cities in Santa Rosa County, Florida
- Cities in Pensacola metropolitan area
- Cities in Florida
- 1875 establishments in Florida
- Populated places established in 1875