Collier 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 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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, its population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. 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 East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Everglades City in 1962. Collier County comprises the

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

– Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which, along with the Cape Coral-Fort Myers (Lee County) MSA and the Clewiston ( Hendry County, Glades County) Micropolitan Statistical Area ( μSA), is included in the Cape Coral- Fort Myers-Naples Combined Statistical Area (CSA).

History

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at Platt Island in the

Big Cypress National Preserve Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, beca ...

shows humans settled in what is now Collier County more than 2000 years ago. The Calusa people had an extensive presence in the area when Europeans arrived. Ted Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island

Ted Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island

The county was created in 1923 from Lee County. It was named for

Barron Collier Barron Gift Collier (March 23, 1873 – March 13, 1939) was an American advertising entrepreneur who became the largest private landowner and developer in Florida, as well as the owner of a chain of hotels, bus lines, several banks, newspapers, ...

, a New York City advertising mogul and real estate developer who had moved to

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are genera ...

and established himself as a prominent landowner. He agreed to build the Tamiami Trail for what was then Lee County (comprising today's Collier, Hendry, and Lee Counties) in exchange for favorable consideration with the state legislature to have a county named for him. After Collier County was named, Collier was quoted as saying: "When I first came here on holiday with Juliet, I never expected that I would buy a whole region of it, nor did I expect to pay for the new Tamiami Trail, or half the things I've done. But I really didn't expect to have a whole county named after me."

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (13.3%) are covered by water. It is the largest county in Florida by land area and fourth-largest by total area. Virtually the entire southeastern portion of the county lies within the

. The northernmost portion of

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the Un ...

extends into the southern coastal part of the county. Chokoloskee, Florida is in the county. The total area of this county is nearly one and a half times the size of Rhode Island, which is the smallest state, and is bigger than Rhode Island and Luxembourg combined.

Adjacent counties

Collier County is located at the southern end of Florida's

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

Coast, and bounded by: * Hendry County – north * Broward County – east *

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

– southeast * Monroe County – south * Lee County – northwest

National protected areas

(part) *

(part) * Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge * Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Transportation

* Everglades Airpark * Immokalee Airport * Marco Island Airport * Naples Municipal Airport * Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport (mostly unused)

Major highways

* Interstate 75 * U.S. Route 41 * State Road 29 * State Road 84 * State Road 951

Demographics

2000 census

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, 251,377 people, 102,973 households, and 71,257 families resided 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 . The 144,536 housing units had an average density of . , its racial makeup was 86.06% White, 4.54% was African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 6.25% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) accounted for 19.61%. Primary languages spoken were 75.3% English, 17.8% Spanish, 2.3% French Creole, and 1.2% German. In 2000, of the 102,973 households, 22.7% had children under 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were not families. About 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 2.79. The county's population distribution was 19.9% under 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44.1 years, higher that the U.S. average. For every 100 females, there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $48,289, and for a family was $54,816. Males had a median income of $32,639 versus $26,371 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 $31,195. About 6.6% of families and 10.3% 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 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

The county continues to experience significant growth and is becoming increasingly diverse. As of the 2010 census, the county's population had increased by 27.9% to 321,520, over the 2000 census. As of the 2010 census, 83.85% of the population was non-Hispanic Whites, 25.9% was Latino or Hispanic, 6.6% was African American, and 1.1% was Asian. As of the 2010 census, the greatest source of population growth in the county since the 2000 census came from the Latino or Hispanic population, which grew from 49,296 (19.6%) to 83,177 (25.9% ). In terms of ancestry, 37.9% were English, 9.9% were Irish, 9.1% were "American", 3.2% were Italian and 3.1% were German.

2020 census

2023_Racial_Demograohics_in_Collier_County_by_Census_Tract

As of the 2020 United States census, 375,752 people, 140,578 households, and 97,279 families resided in the county.

Education

The county's public schools are operated by the District School Board of Collier County.

Public library

The Collier County Public Library system consists of 10 locations serving the entire county. All locations offer public internet stations, printing, photocopying, free Wi-Fi, and 24/7 drop boxes for book and video returns.

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans comprise a majority of registered voters in Collier County. It is also one of the handful of counties where independents outnumber Democrats among registrants. The county is part of a long-established Republican stronghold in southwestern coastal Florida; the last Democrat to win the county was

Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. The last Democratic governor to carry the county was

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

in 1974 and the last Democratic senator to do so was

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

in 1992; six years later, the county was one of four to back the then-Republican candidate,

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

. All voter information is , and provided by Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Statewide elections

Communities

Cities

* Everglades City * Marco Island *

Census-designated places

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

* Berkshire Lakes * Chokoloskee *

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...

* Goodland * Heritage Bay * Immokalee * Island Walk * Lely * Lely Resort * Marco Shores-Hammock Bay * Naples Manor * Naples Park * Orangetree * Pelican Bay * Pelican Marsh * Pine Ridge * Plantation Island * Verona Walk *

Vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

* Winding Cypress

Community development districts

* Fiddler's Creek District #1 * Fiddler's Creek District #2

Other unincorporated communities

* Carnestown * Copeland * East Naples * Isles of Capri *

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

* Miles City * North Naples * Ochopee * Vanderbilt Beach * Vanderbilt Beach Estates

Invasive snake issues

Collier is located in the center of Florida's invasive snake epidemic. A three-month effort at the beginning of 2016 netted over one ton of captured snakes, including a Florida record for the largest male

Burmese python The Burmese python (''Python bivittatus'') is one of the largest species of snakes. It is native to a large area of Southeast Asia and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of the Indian pyth ...

, measuring 16 ft and weighing 140 lb.

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Collier County official website / Board of County Commissioners
official website
Collier County Supervisor of Elections

Collier County Property Appraiser

Collier County Sheriff's Office

Collier County Tax Collector

Collier County Public Library

Tourism links

Marco Island Living

Naples Marco Island Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau

Naples Florida
{{Coord, 26.08, -81.40, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-FL_source:UScensus1990 1923 establishments in Florida Florida counties Populated places established in 1923