Liberty County, Florida

History

Liberty County was created in 1855 and is named after the popular American ideal of liberty.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 843 square miles (2,180 km²), of which 836 square miles (2,170 km²) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km²) (0.9%) is water. The county is bordered on the west by the Apalachicola River.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,021 people, 2,222 households, and 1,553 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 3,156 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.41% White, 18.43% Black or African American, 1.81% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 2.08% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 4.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. More than 10% of the population are Mormons.

There were 2,222 households out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples living together, 13.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.80% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 37.70% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 144.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 159.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,840, and the median income for a family was $34,244. Males had a median income of $22,078 versus $22,661 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,225. About 16.80% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.30% of those under age 18 and 24.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Liberty County is run by a board of five county commissioners, each elected at-large. The following is a list of the commissioners with the number representative of his/her district:

1. Dewayne Branch
2. Dexter Barber
3. Jim Johnson
4. Davis Stoutamire
5. Scotty Phillips

The remaining elected officials are the constitutional officers and the school board members.

Library

Liberty County is part of the Northwest Regional Library System (NWRLS), which serves Gulf and Bay Counties as well.

City

Census-designated places