Highland Beach, Florida

History

Highland Beach was incorporated in 1949. The town was named for its relatively elevated town site.

Geography

Highland Beach is located at 26°23′59″N 80°4′6″W (26.399710, -80.068416).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (56.64%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,775 people, 2,192 households, and 1,227 families residing in the town. The population density was 7,705.7 inhabitants per square mile (2,974.6/km²). There were 3,677 housing units at an average density of 7,505.6 per square mile (2,897.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.33% White (95.6% were Non-Hispanic White,) 0.37% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population.

There were 2,192 households out of which 4.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 1.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.72 and the average family size was 2.15.

In the town, the population was spread out with 3.9% under the age of 18, 1.4% from 18 to 24, 12.7% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 53.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $72,989, and the median income for a family was $95,217. Males had a median income of $87,160 versus $40,357 for females. The per capita income for the town was $67,288. None of the families and 2.1% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 2.0% of those over 64.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 90.63% of all residents, while German accounted for 3.26%, Spanish consisted of 2.22%, French was at 2.08%, and Yiddish made up 1.78% of the population.

As of 2000, Highland Beach had the tenth highest percentage of Austrian residents in the US, with 4.0% of the populace (tied with Mondovi, Wisconsin.) Although the language percentages of Highland Beach didn't necessarily reflect the residents' ancestry, it had the thirty-sixth highest percentage of Russian residents in the US, at 10.90% of the town's population (tied with Atlantic Beach, New York,) and the seventh highest percentage of Turkish residents in the US, at 1.20% of the its population (tied with five other US areas, including Bay Harbor Islands.)

Highland Beach has only two businesses, which keeps the city mostly residential. The two businesses are The Delray Sands Resort and John P O'Grady Realty. The Delray Sands Resort was formerly the Holiday Inn. Both businesses operate out of the same building. They have been in existence several decades.