ZIP Code 34974

Okeechobee (US: OH-kee-CHOH-bee) is a city in Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 5,254. The city is close to the site of the Battle of Lake Okeechesobee, a major battle of the Second Seminole War, fought between forces under the command of Zachary Taylor and Seminole warriors resisting forced relocation to Oklahoma. In the 1930s, the area was the commercial center for the surrounding area, shipping hundreds of train cars of winter vegetables annually. In 2016, the Okeechoobee Music & Arts Festival attracted approximately 30,000 people to the city. The area is served by US routes 98 and 441 and state routes 70, 700 and 15. The median household income (in 2020 dollars) was $40,425 with a per capita income of $19,633. 18.4% of the population lived below the poverty threshold. It has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), bordering within one degree of a tropical climate with hot, humid summers and warm, drier winters. It is the county seat of OkeECHobee County, which is home to the Florida Panhandle High School football team. The town is located just north of the lake where the 1928 Okeecobee Hurricane made landfall. It was the first recorded Category 5 hurricane in the North Atlantic and still one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the US.

History

Okeechobee is the primary city name, but also Basinger, Yeehaw, Yeehaw Junction are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Okeechobee, Florida . Okeechobee is close to the site of the Second Seminole War. In the 1930s, the town was the commercial center for the surrounding area. The area had a bullfrog breeding industry and a catfish shipping plant. The town is now home to the University of Florida's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It is located on the banks of Lake Okeecobee, which was once part of the Okefenokee River. The lake is now a popular destination for boaters and swimmers, and is home to a number of nature preserves. The city is also a popular tourist destination, especially in the spring and summer months, when the water is warm and the mosquitoes are at their most active. It has a population of about 3,000 people, most of whom live in and around the town of OkeECHobee. It was once the commercial hub for the area, shipping hundreds of train cars of winter vegetables annually, in addition to poultry farms, a cat fish shipping plant, and a bull frog breeding industry. It also has a large population of bullfrogs, which are sold for their legs, or'saddles,' in the winter when frogs usually hibernate and are difficult to capture. A female frog lays from 10 to 30 thousand eggs a year; tadpoles appear from 60 to 90 days later. Frog farmers enclose bottom lands, ponds, or swamps; as frogs live on insects, breeders strew the runs with rotting meat to attract blowflies. Some plant flowers and shrubs to lure bugs.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, the city of Okeechobee had a population of 5,254 and 1,814 households. The median household income (in 2020 dollars) was $40,425 with a per capita income of $19,633. 18.4% of the population lived below the poverty threshold. There were 367 veterans living in the city and 12.2% were Foreign born persons. The city is located on the Florida Turnpike, which runs from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. The turnpike is one of the busiest roads in the state. It was built in the early 20th century as a way to bypass the state's heavily populated areas. The Turnpikes were built on the banks of the Florida River, which flows through the city. The town's name is derived from the Spanish word for "river" or "lake" which means "ditch" in Spanish. It is also the name of a Native American tribe, which is known as the Okeecobee Indians. The name of the city was first used in the 17th century by the Spanish-speaking settlers. The word "Okeechoobee" means "people of the river" in the Spanish language. It also means "People of the River" in English, which means people who live near the river. The U.S. state of Florida is also known as "Florida" because it is the only state in which the river runs through the central part of the state, rather than the east.

Geography

Okeechobee has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), bordering within one degree of a tropical climate with hot, humid summers and warm, drier winters. The area is served by US routes 98 and 441 and state routes 70, 700 and 15. The city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km²), of which 4.1 square miles of it is land and 0.04 sq miles (0.10 km²) is water. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population to be 4,000. The town is located just north of Lake Okeechoobee. It has a population of 2,000, up from 2,100 in the 1970s. The population of the city in the 1990s was 4,200, down from 4,500 in the 1980s. It is located on the banks of Taylor Creek. Taylor Creek flows through the east side of the town. The river is a tributary of the Tallahassee River, which runs through the city. It flows into the Okeecobee River on the west. The Okeeches River is a small tributaries of the Little Tallahasee River. It runs north-south and east-to-west through the town and into the Little Okesha River. The Little Tallahssee River flows east-west and north-west into the Chattahoochee River. In the summer, the town is known for its hot, dry summers and cold, dry winters.

Points of interest

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 theSite of a 145-acre (0.59 km²) park, and annual reenactments. In 2016, the city became home to the OkeECHobee Music & Arts Festival. This multi-day, multi-genre music festival attracted approximately 30,000 people to the city in its first year. The festival is now in its second year and is expected to draw more than 20,000 attendees. The city is home to a number of festivals, including the annual Okeechesobee Festival, which is held on the banks of Lake Okeecobee. It is also the home of the Florida Open Air Music Festival, held every year from September to October. The event is free and open to the public, and is open to all ages and skill levels.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Okeechobee, Okeechobee County, Florida = 88. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Okeechobee = 6.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 5,254 individuals with a median age of 35.8 age the population grows by 5.31% in Okeechobee, Okeechobee County, Florida population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,295.36 residents per square mile of area (500.20/km²). There are average 2.65 people per household in the 1,952 households with an average household income of $33,528 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 13.10% of the available work force and has dropped -2.30% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.30%. The number of physicians in Okeechobee per 100,000 population = 116.1.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Okeechobee = 46.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 105. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 237. 90 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 51.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 27, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Okeechobee, Okeechobee County, Florida which are owned by the occupant = 63.31%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 30 years with median home cost = $96,720 and home appreciation of -22.71%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.23 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,353 per student. There are 17.3 students for each teacher in the school, 810 students for each Librarian and 429 students for each Counselor. 2.83% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 5.28% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.59% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).