Ponce Inlet is a town in Volusia 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 Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the

Halifax area The Halifax area or simply Daytona is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the area around Daytona Beach. It is roughly coextensive with the Daytona Beach metropolitan area and Volusia County. There have been a number of attempts ...

. The population was 3,364 at the 2020 census. The town of Ponce Inlet is located on the southern tip of a barrier island, south of Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores. Several marinas are located in Ponce Inlet. The community is known for its strict land use regulations.

Lighthouse

Completed in 1887, replacing the former lighthouse (built in 1835, it had collapsed into the inlet the following year), the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station was built when the area was known as Mosquito Inlet. After decades of restoration by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association, it stands today as one of the best preserved light stations in the nation. Visited by over 80,000 people each year, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1998. The lighthouse tower and museum are located south of Daytona Beach and are open to the public year-round. The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest lighthouse in the nation. Visitors who climb the lighthouse tower are treated to a view of the Florida coastline and

Halifax River The Halifax River is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located in northeast Volusia County, Florida. The waterway was originally known as the North Mosquito River, but was renamed after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (for ...

from Daytona Beach to New Smyrna Beach. The lighthouse keepers' dwellings and other historic light station buildings are now home to the lighthouse museum, with exhibits on lighthouse life, lighthouse and

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

restoration, the keepers and their families, Daytona Beach and Florida history, and

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

s. The Ayres Davies Lens Exhibit Building houses one of the finest collections of restored Fresnel lenses in the world, including the rotating first order Fresnel lens from the Cape Canaveral lighthouse and the restored original Ponce Inlet lighthouse first-order Fresnel lens.

Geography

Ponce Inlet lies on a peninsula at (29.094744, –80.942599), adjacent to the Ponce de León Inlet, and between the

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. 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 is land and (70.48%) is water.

Local government

Ponce Inlet is organized with a council-manager form of government; voters elect a Town Council, which consists of five members who serve two-year staggered terms. All five seats including the Mayor are town-wide; there are no districted seats. The Town Council establishes ordinances and policies for the town. It also reviews and approves the town budget annually. The Council appoints a Town Manager, who implements policy as voted on by the council. The town manager is the senior administrative official of the town, and is responsible for all aspects of administrative oversight.

Local elected officials

* Mayor, Seat 1 – Lois Paritsky * Vice Mayor Seat 5 – Gary L. Smith * Council Member Seat 3 – Skip White * Council Member Seat 4 – Joseph Villanella * Council Member Seat 2 – Bill Milano * Town Manager – Michael Disher

Federal, state and county representation

Ponce Inlet is in the 24th Congressional District and is part of

's 27th Legislative District.

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,364 people, 1,535 households, and 1,063 families residing in the town. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 3,032 people, 1,441 households, and 1,091 families residing in the town.

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 3,032 people, 1,206 households, and 883 families residing in the town. Census population estimate for 2006 was 3192. The population density was . There were 2,043 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.73%

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 ...

, 0.60%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.16% from other races, and 0.52% 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 1.55% of the population. In 2000, there were 1,206 households out of which 11.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% 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, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.38. In 2000, in the town the population was spread out with 10.1% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 15.6% from 25 to 44, 38.2% from 45 to 64, and 32.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 57 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $52,112, and the median income for a family was $58,828. Males had a median income of $42,188 versus $31,989 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 $36,518. About 3.7% of families and 5.1% 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 8.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

* Marine Science Center * Ponce de Leon Inlet Light

References

External links

Town of Ponce Inlet official website
* {{authority control Towns in Volusia County, Florida Populated places established in 1963 Towns in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Beaches of Volusia County, Florida Beaches of Florida