Fort Pierce is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Sunset City. The population was 37,516 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 37,959. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.

Geography

Fort Pierce is located at (27.438817, -80.335471).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.8 km² (20.8 sq mi). 14.7 square miles (38.2 km²) of it is land and 6.0 square miles (15.6 km²) of it (35.00%) is water.

Fort Pierce was the destruction site of three major hurricanes within 2 years: Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Jeanne, September 2004 (which both hit the city by the eye), and Hurricane Wilma, October 2005.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 37,516 people, 14,407 households, and 8,817 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,544.9 people per square mile (982.7/km²). There were 17,170 housing units at an average density of 1,164.7/sq mi (449.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 49.54% White, 40.85% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 5.36% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.00% of the population.

There were 14,407 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,121, and the median income for a family was $29,458. Males had a median income of $21,274 versus $20,012 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,345. About 25.4% of families and 30.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.1% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

• Heathcote Botanical Gardens
• Historic Main Street
• St. Lucie County International Airport
• Old Fort Park
• Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (Fort Pierce was the original home of the Navy SEALs)
• St. Lucie County Historical Museum

Notable Residents

• Matthew Underwood
• A.E. "Beanie" Backus
• Daniel T. McCarty
• Zora Neale Hurston
• Charles Johnson (baseball)
• Rick Ankiel
• Michael Brantley
• Yamon Figurs
• Mark Foley
• Edwin Binney, co-founder of Crayola Crayons
• Gary Stewart, country singer
• Colton Willems

References

External links

• City of Fort Pierce

• What to do in Fort Pierce
• A virtual tour of Fort Pierce