St. Lucie County, Florida

St. Lucie County
County
St. Lucie County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 27°23′N 80°26′W
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	May 24, 1905
Named for	St. Lucie Inlet
Seat	Fort Pierce
Largest city	Port St. Lucie
Area
• Total	688 sq mi (1,780 km2)
• Land	572 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	116 sq mi (300 km2)  16.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	329,226
• Density	576/sq mi (222/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	18th
Website	www.stlucieco.gov

St. Lucie County is a county in the state of Florida. The county seat is the city of Fort Pierce. As of 2020, 329,226 people lived there.

History

The current St. Lucie County was created in 1905 from the southern part of Brevard County. Brevard County had been named St. Lucie County from 1844 until 1855 when it was renamed Brevard County.

In 1925, Indian River County was created out of the northern part of St Lucie County, while northern Martin County was created from a small part of southeastern St. Lucie County and the northern part of Palm Beach County. Much of western St Lucie County had gone in 1917 to form Okeechobee County.

Land

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 688 square miles (1,780 km²), of which 572 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 116 square miles (300 km²) (16.9%) is water, much of it in the Atlantic Ocean.

St. Lucie County is part of the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Major highways

• Interstate 95
• U.S. Highway 1
• Florida State Road 716
• Florida State Road 70
• Florida State Road 68
• Florida State Road 615
• Florida State Road 614
• Florida's Turnpike
• Florida State Road A1A
• Florida State Road 608
• Florida State Road 607
• Florida State Road 713

Counties nearby

• Indian River County, Florida - north
• Martin County, Florida - south
• Okeechobee County, Florida - west

People

At the 2020 census, 329,226 people lived in the county. There were 128,997 households and 2,910 people who did not live in households. The population density was 575.9 people per square mile (222.4/km²). The median age was 45.9 years (44.3 for males, 47.4 for females).

Of the total population, 19.9% were under 18 years old, 55.9% were 18 to 64, and 24.2% were 65 or over. Males made up 48.5% and females made up 51.5% of the people. The population was 53.6% White (non-Latino), 20.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Black (non-Latino), 1.7% Asian, and 3.9% Two or more races (non-Latino). Other races each make up less than 1% of the population.

Of the 128,997 households, 88,835 (68.9%) were families, 35,476 (27.5%) had children under 18, 63,187 (49.0%) had a married couple, and 31,599 (24.5%) had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.5 people. There were 147,884 housing units, and 87.2% had people living in them all year. Of these households, 74.6% were owner-occupied, while 25.4% were renters.

As of 2022, the median (middle) income for a household was about $66,154, and the median income for a family was about $75,649. The per capita income was about $33,847. About 8.5% of families and 12.5% of all people in St. Lucie County lived below the poverty line. This includes 19.4% of children under 18 years old and 9.5% of people over 65 years old.

Cities and towns

Incorporated

• City of Fort Pierce
• City of Port St. Lucie
• Village of St. Lucie

Unincorporated

• Ankona
• Eden
• Eldred
• Fort Pierce North
• Fort Pierce South
• Hutchinson Island South
• Indian River Estates
• Lakewood Park
• North Hutchinson Island
• River Park
• St. Lucie West
• Tradition
• Walton
• White City

Education

Schools in the county are managed by St. Lucie County Public Schools.

• Florida Atlantic University PSL Campus
• Indian River State College Ft. Pierce and PSL Campus
• Keiser University PSL Campus
• University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Ft. Pierce
• Barry University PSL Campus

Points of interest

• St. Lucie County Regional History Center
• St. Lucie County Marine Center Archived 2013-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
• Experimental Oculina Research Reserve
• Heathcote Botanical Gardens
• Old Fort Park
• St. Lucie County International Airport
• US Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (Fort Pierce was the original home of the Navy SEALs)

Other websites

Governmental

Board of County Commissioners

• St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine

Constitutional officers

• St. Lucie County Clerk
• St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections
• St. Lucie County Property Appraiser
• St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office
• St. Lucie County Tax Collector

School district

• St. Lucie County School District

Multi-county districts

• Indian River Community College Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
• South Florida Water Management District
• Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council

Judicial branch

• St. Lucie County Clerk of Courts
• Public Defender, 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida
• State Attorney, 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Circuit and County Courts for the 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Non-governmental

• St. Lucie County Tourism Web Site Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine