The story
History
On February 12, 1913, representatives from five towns on St. Andrews Bay met in Panama City to select a name for a proposed new county. The name Bay was selected because it was satisfactory to the majority of the citizens and descriptive of the territory that would be included. On July 1, 1913, the Legislature created Bay County from portions of Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.
Panama City was where Gideon v. Wainwright, a 1963 US Supreme Court decision that gave all persons accused of a crime the right to an attorney paid for by the government, originated.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 175,216, 70,134 households, and 47,432 families. The median age was 42.3 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.6 males age 18 and over.
Of those households, 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 46.6% were married-couple households, 19.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 102,971 housing units, of which 31.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.4% were owner-occupied and 32.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 15.4%.
The racial makeup of the county was 74.9% White, 10.2% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.1% from some other race, and 8.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.9% of the population.
85.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.2% lived in rural areas.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 148,217 people, 59,597 households, and 40,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75 people/km2). There were 78,435 housing units at an average density of 103 per square mile (40/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 10.64% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. 2.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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There were 59,597 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,092, and the median income for a family was $42,729. Males had a median income of $30,116 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,700. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Bay County, Florida, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4