Cottondale is a city in Jackson County,

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 ...

, United States. It is part of the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

and

North Florida North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...

. The population was 848 at the 2020 census, down from 933 at the 2010 census. The City of Cottondale was one of several Florida Panhandle communities devastated by

Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make ...

in 2018.

Geography

The approximate coordinates for the City of Cottondale is located in western Jackson County at (30.796810, –85.376031).

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

passes through the south side of town on Levy Street. US-90 leads east to Marianna, the Jackson

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 ...

, and west to Chipley.

U.S. Route 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...

runs through the center of Cottondale as Main Street, leading north to

Dothan, Alabama Dothan is a city in and the county seat of Houston County, Alabama, Houston County in the U.S. state of Alabama. A slight portion of the city extends into Dale County, Alabama, Dale and Henry County, Alabama, Henry counties. It had a population ...

, and south to

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

. US-231 crosses

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

south of Cottondale; I-10 leads east to

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

and west to

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. 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 town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.87%, are water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, the City of Cottondale has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

zone (''Cfa'').

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 848 people, 353 households, and 220 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 933 people, 321 households, and 209 families residing in the city.

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, there were 869 people, 376 households, and 239 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 445 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 76.41%

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 ...

, 18.64%

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 ...

, 0.35% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.58% from other races, and 3.45% 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 4.14% of the population. In 2000, there were 376 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.94. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.9 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $20,509, and the median income for a family was $26,667. Males had a median income of $24,545 versus $18,571 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 town was $11,266. About 24.8% of families and 27.4% 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 ...

, including 34.3% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The public schools located within Cottondale are served by the Jackson County School Board. *Cottondale Elementary School *Cottondale High School

Police department

Cottondale has a police force of four to five sworn officers; the police chief is Willam Watford.

References

{{authority control Towns in Jackson County, Florida Towns in Florida