Highlands County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the Florida Heartland region of the U.S. state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 101,235. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Sebring. Highlands County comprises the Sebring, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The SMA was first defined in 2003 as the Sebring, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), consisting of Highlands County. The status of the area was changed to a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in 2013. The MSA was renamed the Sebring-Avon Park, Florida MSA in 2018. The name reverted to Sebring, Florida MSA in 2023.

History

Highlands County was created in 1921 along with Charlotte, Glades, and Hardee, when they were separated from DeSoto County. It was named for the terrain of the county. It boasted the fifth-oldest population in America in 2012.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.1%) is water. In area, it is the 14th largest county in Florida. Highlands County is bounded on the east by the

Kissimmee River The Kissimmee River is a river in south-central Florida, United States that forms the north part of the Everglades wetlands area. The river begins at East Lake Tohopekaliga south of Orlando, flowing south through Lake Kissimmee into the large ...

. Lake Istokpoga, the largest lake in the county, is connected to the Kissimmee River by two canals; the Istokpoga canal, and the C41 (outflow) canal.

Adjacent counties

Osceola County, Florida Osceola County ( ) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 388,656. Its county seat is Kissimmee. Osceola County is included in the Orlando– Kissimmee– Sanford, ...

- northeast *

Okeechobee County, Florida Okeechobee County () is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,644. The county seat is Okeechobee. History Okeechobee County was incorporated in 1917. It was ...

- east * Glades County, Florida - south * Charlotte County, Florida - southwest *

DeSoto County, Florida DeSoto County is a County (United States), county located in the Florida Heartland region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,976. Its county seat is Arcadia, Florida, Arcadia. ...

- west *

Hardee County, Florida Hardee County is a County (United States), county located in the Florida Heartland of the Central Florida region in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,327. Its county seat is Wauch ...

- west *

Polk County, Florida Polk County () is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as ...

- north

National protected area

* Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 101,235 people, 42,721 households, and 27,169 families residing in the county. As of 2015, there were 99,491 people and 39,931 households living in the county. The population density was 97.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 85.8% White, 10.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.6% from two or more races. 18.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 51.3% of the entire population are female. The median household income was $35,560 with 20.1% of the population being below the poverty level from 2009 to 2013. 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 ...

for Florida was $11,490 in 2013. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 87,366 people, 37,471 households, and 25,780 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 48,846 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 83.47%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9.33%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.44% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 4.14% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. 12.07% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. In 2000 there were 37,471 households, out of which 20.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.70. In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.20% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 19.30% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 33.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,160, and the median income for a family was $35,647. Males had a median income of $26,811 versus $20,725 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,222. About 10.20% of families and 15.20% of the population were below the

, including 25.60% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Highways

U.S. Route 27 * Florida 17

State Road 17 * US 98

U.S. Route 98 * Florida 64

State Road 64 * Florida 66

State Road 66 * Florida 70

State Road 70 * CR 634A jct

Sebring Parkway/Panther Parkway

Airports

* Sebring Regional Airport (KSEF) * Avon Park Executive Airport (KAVO)

Rail

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

(CSXT) *

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

(AMTK)

Government

Highlands County is governed by five elected County Commissioners and an appointed County Administrator. The administrator has executive powers to implement all decisions, ordinances, motions, and policies/procedures set forth by the Board. The FY 2013-2014 adopted budget of the county is approximately $123 million and the county employees over 350 people in 31 departments of the administration. Other organizations of the county include, the Clerk of Courts with about 75 positions, Sheriff's Office with about 340 positions, County Appraisers Office with about 30 positions, Tax Collectors Office with about 40 positions, and Elections Office with 5 positions. In all there are about 860 positions in Highlands County government.

Law Enforcement

Highlands County Sheriffs Office is the primary law enforcement agency for the non incorporated areas of Highlands County, Paul Blackman is the Sheriff. The City of Sebring and Town of Lake Placid have their own respective police departments. Avon Park Police Department closed its doors in 2015, the Sheriffs Office is now the primary law enforcement agency for the town. All public safety in Highlands County utilize a Motorola P25 Trunked Radio System which was initiated by Polk County. Highlands and Hardee Counties have piggybacked onto the system. To date, Highlands County Law Enforcement is the only law enforcement on the entire system to use 24/7 ADP encryption.

Politics

Highlands County, like the relatively nearby southwest coast, is strongly Republican: the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Like North Florida, but unlike the southwest coast,

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

was able to outpoll the Democratic Party here in 1968, and only in 1992 and 1996 has the Republican candidate not won an absolute majority since.

Economy

Top employers

The top private employers of Highlands County are as follows:http://www.lpfla.com/2014%20Highlands%20County%20Demographics.pdf IPFLA
1. Advent Health Hospital (1500)
2.

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

(796)
3. Agero (600)
4. Highlands Regional Medical Center (413)
5. Delray Plants (350)
6. Palms of Sebring (257)
7. Alan Jay Automotive Network (250)
8. Lake Placid Health Care (210)
9. Positive Medical Transport (150)
10. E-Stone USA (87)

Libraries

Highlands County is part of the Heartland Library Cooperative which serve Highlands County and some of the surrounding counties in the

Florida Heartland The Florida Heartland (also known as South Central Florida) is a region of Florida located to the north and west of Lake Okeechobee, composed of six inland, predominantly rural counties— DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okee ...

, including Glades, DeSoto, Hardee, and Okeechobee. Based in Sebring, the cooperative has seven branches within the Heartland region, with three of those branches in Highlands County: Avon Park, Lake Placid and Sebring.

Communities

Cities

* Avon Park * Sebring

Town

* Lake Placid

Unincorporated communities

* Avon Park Lakes *

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

* Cornwell * DeSoto City * Fort Basinger * Fort Kissimmee * Hicoria * Lorida * Placid Lakes * Spring Lake * Sun 'n Lake of Sebring * Sylvan Shores *

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Highlands County Board of County Commissioners
official website
Highlands County Supervisor of Elections

Highlands County Property Appraiser

Highlands County Tax Collector

Florida DOT Highlands county General Highway Map

Special districts

Highlands County Public Schools

South Florida Water Management District

Southwest Florida Water Management District

Heartland Library Cooperative

Judicial branch

Highlands County Clerk of Courts

serving Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties
Office of the State Attorney, 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Circuit and County Court for the 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

Highlands County Convention and Visitors Bureau
* Highlands Hammock State Park {{authority control Florida counties 1921 establishments in Florida Populated places established in 1921 Micropolitan areas of Florida