Welcome
to Lee County
Lee County was created in 1887 from Monroe County. It was named
for Robert E. Lee, general in the American Civil War.
In 1923, Collier and
Hendry Counties were created by splitting these areas from Lee County. As recently as 2004, discussion had taken place surrounding
the possibility of the city of Cape Coral becoming its own county, citing in particular a perceived lack of infrastructure
support from the Lee County government. However a new county has not as of yet been created.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,139 km² (1,212 mi²). 2,081 km²
(804 mi²) of it is land and 1,057 km² (408 mi²) of it (33.69%) is water.
Lee County is located on the southwest coast of Florida. It is approximately 125 miles south of Tampa and 115
miles west of Fort Lauderdale via Interstate 75; and approximately 125 miles west-northwest of Miami via U.S. Highway 41.
Lee County is the sole county in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Adjacent counties
Charlotte County, Florida (north)
Glades County, Florida
- (northeast)
Collier County, Florida (southeast)
Hendry County, Florida (east)
Demographics
As of the census² of 2006, there were 585,608 people, 188,599 households, and 127,681
families residing in the county. The population density was 212/km² (549/mi²). There were 245,405 housing units
at an average density of 118/km² (305/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.69% White, 6.59% Black or African
American, 0.28% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.07% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races.
9.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 86.7% spoke English, 8.7% Spanish and 1.1% German as their first
language.
There were 188,599 households out of which 22.40% had children
under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.10% 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 2.73.
In the county the population was spread out with 19.60% under the age of 18, 6.20% from
18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 25.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45
years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,319, and the median income
for a family was $46,430. Males had a median income of $31,247 versus $24,380 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $24,542. About 6.70% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including
15.20% of those under age 18 and 5.60% of those age 65 or over.
School
District
See: Lee County School District
Municipalities
Incorporated
City of Bonita Springs Population 43,518
City of Cape Coral Population
163, 499
City of Fort Myers Population 65, 729
Town of Fort Myers Beach Population 6,874
City of Sanibel Population
6,321
Unincorporated
Alva
Bokeelia
Buckingham
Burnt Store Marina
Captiva
Charleston Park
Cypress Lake
East Dunbar
Estero
Fort Myers Shores
Gateway
Harlem Heights
Iona
Lehigh Acres
Lochmoor Waterway Estates
Matlacha (on Matlacha Island)
Matlacha Isles-Matlacha Shores
McGregor
North Fort Myers
Olga
Page Park
Palmona Park
Pine
Island Center
Pine Manor
Pineland (on Pine Island)
Punta Rassa
San Carlos Park
South Fort Myers
St. James City
Suncoast Estates
Three Oaks
Tice
Villas
Whiskey Creek
Islands
Big Hickory Island (Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson State Park)
Cabbage
Key
Captiva Island
Cayo Costa (Cayo Costa State Park)
Estero Island (Town of Fort Myers Beach)
Gasparilla
Island (community of Boca Grande)
Little Hickory Island (Beaches of Bonita Springs)
Matlacha Island
North Captiva
Island
Pine Island
San Carlos Island
Sanibel Island (Town of Sanibel)
Useppa Island
