Bokeelia is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) located on Pine Island in

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in southwestern Florida, United States, on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 760,822. In 2022, the population was 822,453, making it the eighth-most populous county in the state. The county seat ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 1,855, up from 1,780 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area Lee County is located in southwestern Florida, United States, on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 760,822. In 2022, the population was 822,453, making it the eighth-most populous county in the state. The county seat ...

. Bokeelia is still home to one of Lee County's first pioneer families, the Padillas, who came by way of Cayo Costa.

Geography

Bokeelia is located in western Lee County at (26.687960, -82.145249). It sits at the northern end of Pine Island and is bordered by water on three sides:

Pine Island Sound Pine Island Sound is located in Lee County, Florida, lying between Pine Island and the barrier islands of Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, North Captiva Island and Cayo Costa, which separate the Sound from the Gulf of Mexico. The Sound connect ...

to the west, Charlotte Harbor to the north, and Matlacha Pass to the east. Bokeelia is bordered to the south by the unincorporated communities of Pineland and Pine Island Center. The original settlement of Bokeelia is on Bokeelia Island, connected to Pine Island by a short bridge on Stringfellow Road (County Road 767), the main road through the community, and which ends at the town's short Main Street along Charlotte Harbor. To the south Stringfellow Road leads to Pine Island Center, from where County Road 78 leads west to

Cape Coral Cape Coral is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957, the city's population had grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 census, a 26% increase from 154,309 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-most p ...

on the mainland. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Bokeelia CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 19.87%, are water. Little Bokeelia Island, formerly owned by Charles Burgess, is a private island off Bokeelia.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,997 people, 907 households, and 631 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,436 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.05%

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 ...

, 0.25%

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 ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.85% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races.

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 were 12.47% of the population. There were 907 households, out of which 16.1% had children under 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.55. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 15.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 18.2% from 25 to 44, 31.9% from 45 to 64, and 28.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.2 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 112.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $36,319, and the median income for a family was $42,250. Males had a median income of $24,271 versus $28,854 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 CDP was $27,613. About 12.4% of families and 17.6% 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 ...

, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those aged 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Lee County, Florida Census-designated places in Florida Populated places on the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida Populated places on Charlotte Harbor Pine Island (Lee County, Florida)