Beverly Hills is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Citrus County Citrus County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 153,843. Its county seat is Inverness, and its largest community is Homosassa Springs. Citrus County compris ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. The population was 8,445 at the 2010 census.

History

Sam Kellner, a Jewish businessman from New York, made a fortune in the tire business during the 1930s and 1940s, after which he went into construction and real estate development. Around 1960 he purchased 3,500 acres of land in interior Citrus County. Within a few years, Kellner began to develop the former cattle land, selling simple, single-story homes to retirees from the urban North, especially New York and Detroit. Kellner named his new venture Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills was among the first retirement-oriented planned communities in Central Florida. Like other such developments in

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

and the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, a private company—Kellner’s Rolling Oaks Corporation—owned most of the non-residential property, including a nearby lumberyard and concrete plant. Purchasing land in a rural, inland area allowed Kellner to market the new community to working class retirees at affordable prices. Beverly Hills proved an early success, growing from 20 homes in the spring of 1962 to around 400 by the end of 1965. In 1972, the development’s population reached 4,500 residents living in 2,200 homes. In 1980, Beverly Hills Development Corp. purchased the subdivision from original developer Sam Kellner in 1980 and nine years later it was sold to Morrison Homes, the Atlanta-based home builder which ceased selling homes in the subdivision in 1999.

Geography

Beverly Hills is located in north-central Citrus County at . It is nearly surrounded by the community of Pine Ridge, except for a small area on the west where it is bordered by Black Diamond. County Road 491 (North Lecanto Highway) forms the northwestern edge of the Beverly Hills CDP, leading northeast to

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

and southwest to State Road 44 in

Lecanto Lecanto is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,882, up from 5,161 in 2000. It is home to several county government facilities such ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 8,317 people, 4,401 households, and 2,583 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 4,925 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.90%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.71%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.60%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.38% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.20% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.97% of the population. There were 4,401 households, out of which 10.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.87 and the average family size was 2.35. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 10.8% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 13.2% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 54.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 68 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,875, and the median income for a family was $31,505. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $16,857 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $17,014. About 8.4% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Public transportation

Citrus County Transit's Orange route serves Beverly Hills.

Education

The CDP is served by

Citrus County Schools The Citrus County School District is the public school district of Citrus County, Florida. The district serves the cities of Crystal River and Inverness, and communities such as Beverly Hills, Citrus Springs, Floral City, Hernando, Holder ...

. Residents are divided between Forest Ridge Elementary School and Central Ridge Elementary School. Residents are divided between

Citrus Springs Citrus Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,622 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 4,157 in 2000. Geography Citrus Springs is loc ...

Middle and

Middle. All residents are zoned to

Lecanto High School Lecanto High School is a secondary school in Lecanto, Florida.Lecanto High SchoolOfficial Website It is a public high school in the Citrus County School District. The school covers grades 9-12, with approximately 1740 students and 103 faculty. ...

. St. Paul’s Lutheran School is a Christian Pre-K-8 school of the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...

in Beverly Hills. The Central Ridge Library of Citrus Libraries is in Beverly Hills.Locations & Hours
." Citrus Libraries. Retrieved on February 4, 2017. "CENTRAL RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY 425 W. Roosevelt Blvd. Beverly Hills, FL 34465"

References

External links

Citrus County Visitors & Convention Bureau
{{authority control Census-designated places in Citrus County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Citrus County, Florida Planned communities in Florida