Sumter County, Florida

Sumter County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population is 129,752. It has the oldest median age (68.3 years) of any US county[2] and the highest percentage of residents aged 65 and older—at 55.6% in 2014-2018 (in 2009–2013).[3] Its county seat is Bushnell,[4] and the largest community is The Villages.

Sumter County
County
Sumter County Courthouse
Sumter County Courthouse
Official seal of Sumter County
Seal
Map of Florida highlighting Sumter County
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Map of the United States highlighting Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 28°43′N 82°05′W
Country United States
State Florida
FoundedJanuary 8, 1853
Named forThomas Sumter
SeatBushnell
Largest communityThe Villages
Area
 • Total580 sq mi (1,500 km2)
 • Land557 sq mi (1,440 km2)
 • Water33 sq mi (90 km2)  5.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total129,752[1]
 • Density233/sq mi (90/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district11th
Websitewww.sumtercountyfl.gov

Sumter County coincides with the Wildwood-The Villages, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Orlando-Lakeland-Deltona, FL Combined Statistical Area.[5]

History

Sumter County was created in 1853.[6] It was named for General Thomas Sumter, a general in the American Revolutionary War.[7] The county in the past, and to this day by some, is nicknamed "Hog County" most likely because it is home to a large population of wild hogs. Hog hunting is still a favorite pastime of locals in the more rural portions of the county.

Although long extremely rural, in recent years Sumter County has sustained an exceptionally large increase in population, almost solely due to the expansion of The Villages retirement complex, a significant portion of which is in the county. This has dramatically changed the demographics of the county and has brought in significant income.

Sumter County was affected by the massive Florida tornado outbreak of February 2, 2007, and a state of emergency was declared.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 580 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 547 square miles (1,420 km2) is land and 33 square miles (85 km2) (5.7%) is water.[8]

The Wildwood-The Villages, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Sumter County. The principal cities of the MSA are Wildwood and The Villages. The MSA was first defined in or before 2003 as The Villages, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA) with The Villages as the principal city. The area was designated an MSA in or before 2013. In 2023, Wildwood was added as a principal city and the name of the MSA.[9][10][11]

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18601,549—
18702,95290.6%
18804,68658.7%
18905,36314.4%
19006,18715.4%
19106,6968.2%
19207,85117.2%
193010,64435.6%
194011,0413.7%
195011,3302.6%
196011,8694.8%
197014,83925.0%
198024,27263.6%
199031,57730.1%
200053,34568.9%
201093,42075.1%
2020129,75238.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]
1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14]
1990-2000[15] 2010-2019[16]
Sumter County racial composition as of 2020
(NH = Non-Hispanic)[lower-alpha 1]
Race Pop 2010[19] Pop 2020[20] % 2010 % 2020
White (NH) 77,338 109,213 82.79% 84.17%
Black or African American (NH) 8,736 8,313 9.35% 6.41%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 294 311 0.31% 0.24%
Asian (NH) 609 1,238 0.65% 0.95%
Pacific Islander (NH) 28 31 0.03% 0.02%
Some Other Race (NH) 77 320 0.08% 0.25%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) 756 2,743 0.81% 2.11%
Hispanic or Latino 5,582 7,583 5.98% 5.84%
Total 93,420 129,752

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 129,752 people, 59,076 households, and 39,605 families residing in the county.

As of the census[21] of 2000, there were 53,345 people, 20,779 households, and 15,043 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 inhabitants per square mile (38/km2). There were 25,195 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile (18/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 82.60% White, 13.78% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.16% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. 6.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 20,779 households, out of which 18.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.90% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.62. According to U. S. News & World Report over half the population of Sumter County are now senior citizens.[22]

In the county, the population was spread out, with 16.10% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 27.30% from 45 to 64, and 27.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,073, and the median income for a family was $36,999. Males had a median income of $27,346 versus $21,145 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,830. About 9.60% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.00% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over. According to The Daily Commercial, Sumter County's unemployment rate as of March 2009 is 13.2 percent.

Law enforcement
Sumter County Sheriff's Office
AbbreviationSCSO
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionSumter County, Florida, Florida, USA
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersBushnell, Florida
Agency executive
Website
Sumter County Sheriff

The Sumter County Sheriff's Office is accredited by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, Inc. and recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. It primarily patrols the unincorporated areas of Sumter County.

Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is located in the county.

It includes:

Politics
United States presidential election results for Sumter County, Florida[23]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 62,761 67.76% 29,341 31.68% 522 0.56%
2016 52,730 68.27% 22,638 29.31% 1,870 2.42%
2012 40,646 67.13% 19,524 32.25% 376 0.62%
2008 30,866 63.01% 17,655 36.04% 462 0.94%
2004 19,800 62.18% 11,584 36.38% 458 1.44%
2000 12,127 54.48% 9,637 43.29% 497 2.23%
1996 5,960 38.70% 7,017 45.56% 2,423 15.73%
1992 4,366 35.41% 5,027 40.77% 2,936 23.81%
1988 5,936 59.98% 3,900 39.41% 60 0.61%
1984 6,255 64.37% 3,461 35.62% 1 0.01%
1980 3,671 44.41% 4,380 52.98% 216 2.61%
1976 2,212 31.20% 4,721 66.59% 157 2.21%
1972 3,695 76.71% 1,107 22.98% 15 0.31%
1968 910 17.96% 1,277 25.21% 2,879 56.83%
1964 1,631 41.93% 2,259 58.07% 0 0.00%
1960 1,120 32.95% 2,279 67.05% 0 0.00%
1956 1,061 31.30% 2,329 68.70% 0 0.00%
1952 1,054 31.64% 2,277 68.36% 0 0.00%
1948 251 11.66% 1,411 65.57% 490 22.77%
1944 276 13.06% 1,838 86.94% 0 0.00%
1940 253 9.60% 2,382 90.40% 0 0.00%
1936 734 29.86% 1,724 70.14% 0 0.00%
1932 276 11.43% 2,138 88.57% 0 0.00%
1928 1,152 55.60% 909 43.87% 11 0.53%
1924 108 15.93% 481 70.94% 89 13.13%
1920 219 18.96% 921 79.74% 15 1.30%
1916 70 9.42% 599 80.62% 74 9.96%
1912 22 3.94% 417 74.73% 119 21.33%
1908 62 12.60% 343 69.72% 87 17.68%
1904 61 12.20% 316 63.20% 123 24.60%
1900 53 12.62% 343 81.67% 24 5.71%
1896 89 13.71% 524 80.74% 36 5.55%
1892 0 0.00% 444 59.28% 305 40.72%

Most likely owing to its majority-elderly population, Sumter County has been a Republican stronghold in the 21st century.

Transportation

Railroads

CSX operates one rail line within the county. Amtrak formerly provided passenger rail service to Wildwood, but the stop was terminated in late 2004.[24] Other lines have existed in the past, most notably one from Coleman southeast towards Auburndale in Polk County, part of which includes the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail in Mabel. Amtrak ran along this line until 1988. Another line ran from Croom in Hernando County to Center Hill. Today, part of it is a Forest Road in Withlacoochee State Forest north of the Sumter Rest Area on I-75. A fourth one was part of the Orange Belt Railway, which ran from Trilby in Pasco County to Sylvan Lake in Seminole County. This runs along the south side of State Road 50 east of Tarrytown.

Major roads
See also: List of county roads in Sumter County, Florida
  • Interstate 75 runs north and south across the western and northern part of the county, with interchanges at County Roads 476B & 673(Exit 309), SR 48 (Exit 314) CR 470(Exit 321), Florida's Turnpike(Exit 328), and SR 44(Exit 329).
  • Florida's Turnpike runs north and south from Southeastern and Central Florida. Only two interchanges exist in the county; US 301(Exit 304) and at the northern terminus at I-75(unmarked Exit 309), in Wildwood. Plans are currently under way to reconstruct the interchange, by combining it with I-75 & SR 44.
  • U.S. Route 301 is the main local road through Sumter County, running southwest to northeast.
  • State Road 44 runs east and west through the northern part of the county from Rutland into Lake County.
  • County Road 470: runs east and west from SR 44 near the Sumter-Citrus County Line along the west side of Lake Panasoffkee, then briefly joins US 301 in Sumterville before heading east again towards Lake County.
  • County Road 48 runs mostly east and west through Central Sumter County. It spans from Floral City in Citrus County to Howey-in-the Hills in Lake County. Until December 2016 the segment in Bushnell between I-75 (Exit 314) and US 301 was designated as a state road. Between the western terminus and US 301, it is also shared by the DeSoto Trail.
  • County Road 476: East-West Bi-County road running from Nobleton in Hernando County to Webster. The road spans as far west as US 19 along the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.
  • State Road 50 runs east and west across the southern part of the county from Withlacoochee State Forest in Hernando County through Tarrytown and Mabel before entering Lake County.
  • State Road 471 runs north and south from Polk County north of US 98 into US 301 in Sumterville.
  • County Road 475: Two north–south roads that were previously one until Interstate 75 was built. One section spans from SR 48 in Bushnell to CR 470 on the southeast corner of Exit 321 on I-75 in Lake Panasoffkee. The other starts at SR 44 in Wildwood west of Exit 329 on I-75 and crosses the Marion County line towards Ocala.
  • County Road 466-A:
  • County Road 466:
  • County Road 462:
  • County Road 476-B:

Scenic Sumter Heritage Byway

The Sumter County Chamber of Commerce, the cities of Webster and Bushnell, the Sumter County government, businesses, community leaders, veterans’ groups, and individuals worked to have 62 miles of road in Sumter County designated by the state of Florida as a Florida Scenic Byway.[25] On September 1, 2010, the Scenic Sumter Heritage Byway was designated a candidate for the Florida Scenic Highway Program.[26] The Scenic Sumter Heritage Byway became the 24th highway to be designated a Florida Scenic Highway by the Florida Department of Transportation in June 2013.[25] Points of interest along the route include the Dade Battlefield State Historic Site, the Sumter County Farmer's Market, Lake Panasoffkee, the Florida National Cemetery.[27] On January 25, 2014, community leaders, supporters of the byway, and Assistant Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation Brian Blanchard cut the ribbon to the highway at the Dade Battlefield State Historic Site in Bushnell.[28]

Public Transportation

Sumter County operates Sumter County Transit, which operates three fixed-route services, as well as paratransit service.[29]

Education

Sumter District Schools operates district public and private schools in Sumter County.

The Villages Charter Schools is a K-12 charter school in unincorporated northern Sumter County in The Villages CDP.[30] Children are eligible to attend the charter school if one or both of their parents work for The Villages.[31]

Among other schools in the county is South Sumter Middle School, a junior high school for students in grades 6–8, and Lake-Sumter State College has a campus in Sumterville that serves the community.

Libraries

Sumter County has five branches serving its community as well as a Lake-Sumter State College campus library that is open to the public.

  • Bushnell Public Library
  • E.C. Rowell Public Library
  • Panasoffkee Community Library
  • Villages Public Library (Belvedere)
  • Villages Public Library (Pinellas Plaza)
  • Lake-Sumter State College Library (Sumterville)

The Sumter County Library Services began servicing the Wahoo, Center Hill, Linden, Croom-A-Coochee areas through the county's Library on Wheels program in 2008.[32]

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

See also

Notes
  1. Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[17][18]

References
  1. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Sumter County, Florida". www.census.gov.
  2. "A State's Median Age Does Not Tell The Whole Story". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-Year Estimates Now Available. December 19, 2019. Accessed December 21, 2019
  4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. "OMB Bulletin No. 20-01 Appendix" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. Office of Management and Budget. March 6, 2020. p. 140. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  6. Publications of the Florida Historical Society. Florida Historical Society. 1908. p. 34.
  7. Frisaro, Freida Ratliff (February 21, 1988). "Indian heritage runs deep throughout Central Florida". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 63. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  8. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. "OMB Bulletin No. 03-04 - Attachment" (PDF). White House Office of Management and Budget. June 6, 2003. p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 9, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  10. "OMB Bulletin No. 13-1: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. February 28, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  11. "Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Guidance on the Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). Executive Office of the President. July 21, 2023. p. 77. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  12. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  13. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  14. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  15. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  16. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  17. https://www.census.gov/
  18. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  19. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  20. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  21. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  22. "Stock quotes, financial tools, news and analysis - MSN Money". realestate.msn.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org.
  24. "St. Petersburg Times". Loss of Amtrak service shouldn't derail Dade City. Retrieved October 29, 2004.
  25. South Lake Press Staff (June 21, 2013). "Sumter wins Florida Scenic Byway recognition". South Lake Press. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  26. Florida Scenic Highway Program (June 2010). "FSHP Designated and Eligible Scenic Highway Information" (PDF). Florida Scenic Highway Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  27. Locklear, Brenda (February 4, 2014). "Byways to benefit businesses, communities". Sumter County Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  28. Sumter County Times Staff (January 22, 2014). "Out and About". Sumter County Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  29. "Reservations and Routes - Sumter County, FL - Official Website". sumtercountyfl.gov.
  30. "Welcome." The Villages Charter Schools. Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
  31. "Charter-in-the-Workplace." The Villages Charter Schools. Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
  32. Sumter County Board of County Commissioners (2008). "Annual Report 2008". Sumter County Board of County Commissioners. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  33. "Royal Populated Place Profile / Sumter County, Florida Data". florida.hometownlocator.com.
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28.71°N 82.08°W / 28.71; -82.08

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