Bay County, Florida

Bay County is a county on the Emerald Coast in Northwest Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 175,216.^[1] Its county seat is Panama City.^[2] Bay County is included in the Panama City, Florida metropolitan area.

Bay County
County
The Bay County Courthouse in March 2008
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°14′N 85°38′W
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	April 24, 1913
Named after	St. Andrews Bay
Seat	Panama City
Largest city	Panama City
Area
• Total	1,033 sq mi (2,680 km2)
• Land	758 sq mi (1,960 km2)
• Water	275 sq mi (710 km2)  26.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	175,216
• Estimate  (2023)	190,769
• Density	170/sq mi (65/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.baycountyfl.gov

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.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,467 square miles (3,800 km²), of which 759 square miles (1,970 km²) is land and 708 square miles (1,830 km²) is water.^[4]

Bay County is included in the Panama City, Florida metropolitan area along with Washington County.^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Washington County - north
• Jackson County - northeast
• Calhoun County - east
• Gulf County - southeast
• Walton County - west

National protected area

• Apalachicola National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	11,407		—
1930	12,091		6.0%
1940	20,686		71.1%
1950	42,689		106.4%
1960	67,131		57.3%
1970	75,283		12.1%
1980	97,740		29.8%
1990	126,994		29.9%
2000	148,217		16.7%
2010	168,852		13.9%
2020	175,216		3.8%
2023 (est.)	190,769	[6]	8.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9] 1990-2000[10] 2010-2020 [11] 2020[1]

Bay County – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[12]	Pop 2010[13]	Pop 2020[14]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White (NH)	122,708	133,790	128,348	82.79%	79.24%	73.25%
Black or African American (NH)	15,526	17,844	17,549	10.48%	10.57%	10.02%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	1,096	1,033	795	0.74%	0.61%	0.45%
Asian (NH)	2,534	3,298	4,068	1.71%	1.95%	2.32%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	111	140	194	0.07%	0.08%	0.11%
Other race alone (NH)	164	223	720	0.11%	0.13%	0.41%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	2,487	4,417	9,696	1.68%	2.62%	5.53%
Hispanic or Latino	3,591	8,107	13,846	2.42%	4.80%	7.90%
Total	148,217	168,852	175,216	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

A map of the racial demographics of Bay County, Florida by Census tract.

Legend

• Non-Hispanic White   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90% Black or African American   50–60%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 175,216 people, 73,536 households, and 47,432 families residing in the county.

As of the census^[15] 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.

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.

Government

Elected Officials

Bay County Government
Sheriff	Tommy Ford [16]	Republican
Tax Collector	Chuck Perdue	Republican
Clerk of the Court	Bill Kinsaul	Republican
Supervisor of Elections	Mark Anderson	Republican
Superintendent of Schools	Mark McQueen (appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis)	Republican
Property Appraiser	Dan Sowell	Republican

Board of Commissioners

5 members, elected from districts (zero Democrats, five Republicans)^[17]

District	Commissioner	Party	Positions
1	Tommy Hamm	Republican	Chair of the County Commission
2	Robert Carroll	Republican
3	Bill Dozier	Republican
4	Doug Moore	Republican	Vice Chair of the County Commission
5	Clair Pease	Republican

Politics

Bay County is highly conservative, along with the Florida panhandle as a whole. The Republican presidential candidate has carried the county in every election since 1976, often by large margins.

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans are a majority of the registered voters in Bay County.

Bay County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of March 31, 2022[update][18]
Political Party		Total Voters	Percentage
	Republican	66,358	53.51%
	Democratic	27,605	22.26%
	Independent	27,524	22.20%
	Other Parties	2,508	2.02%
Total		123,995	100%

Statewide elections

United States presidential election results for Bay County, Florida^[19]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	71,497	72.84%	25,201	25.67%	1,459	1.49%
2020	66,097	70.91%	25,614	27.48%	1,502	1.61%
2016	62,194	70.50%	21,797	24.71%	4,231	4.80%
2012	56,876	71.01%	22,051	27.53%	1,174	1.47%
2008	56,683	69.66%	23,653	29.07%	1,030	1.27%
2004	53,404	71.18%	21,068	28.08%	552	0.74%
2000	38,682	65.70%	18,873	32.06%	1,321	2.24%
1996	28,365	54.87%	17,068	33.02%	6,261	12.11%
1992	22,842	49.99%	12,846	28.12%	10,001	21.89%
1988	31,796	72.51%	11,603	26.46%	452	1.03%
1984	29,356	75.77%	9,384	24.22%	4	0.01%
1980	20,948	60.61%	12,389	35.85%	1,224	3.54%
1976	14,208	48.19%	14,858	50.39%	418	1.42%
1972	20,245	83.80%	3,914	16.20%	0	0.00%
1968	5,121	21.07%	4,020	16.54%	15,161	62.39%
1964	12,849	62.09%	7,846	37.91%	0	0.00%
1960	5,435	33.94%	10,579	66.06%	0	0.00%
1956	4,971	36.51%	8,645	63.49%	0	0.00%
1952	4,812	35.38%	8,789	64.62%	0	0.00%
1948	928	12.69%	5,168	70.68%	1,216	16.63%
1944	1,126	15.13%	6,317	84.87%	0	0.00%
1940	684	11.72%	5,153	88.28%	0	0.00%
1936	541	14.45%	3,202	85.55%	0	0.00%
1932	429	13.75%	2,692	86.25%	0	0.00%
1928	974	44.27%	1,190	54.09%	36	1.64%
1924	318	25.48%	838	67.15%	92	7.37%
1920	551	36.98%	818	54.90%	121	8.12%
1916	279	23.64%	725	61.44%	176	14.92%

Previous gubernatorial elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2022	78.38% 52,590	21.00% 14,091	0.61% 412
2018	72.17% 45,709	26.46% 16,757	1.37% 865
2014	71.79% 40,956	22.77% 12,990	5.44% 3,104
2010	66.39% 36,512	28.53% 15,689	5.08% 2,796
2006	65.26% 31,382	30.78% 14,802	3.96% 1,907
2002	70.02% 34,107	29.27% 14,258	0.71% 344
1998	69.01% 26,759	30.99% 12,017	0.00% 2
1994	56.87% 23,498	43.12% 17,816	0.01% 2

Education

Bay District Schools operates public schools serving all portions of the county except Mexico Beach, which is served by Gulf County Schools.^[20][21][22]

Schools in Bay County

Pre-K – 12 schools

Deane Bozeman School

North Bay Haven Charter Academy

Palm Bay Preparatory Academy

Rising Leaders Academy

PreK-8 Schools

Breakfast Point Academy

Bay Haven Charter Academy

University Academy

High schools

• Zoned

J. R. Arnold High School (Panama City Beach)

Bay High School (Panama City)

A. Crawford Mosley High School (Lynn Haven)

Rutherford High School (Springfield)

• Optional

A.D. Harris High School (Panama City)

Haney Technical High School (Panama City)

New Horizons Learning Center (Lynn Haven)

Rosenwald High School (Panama City)

Middle schools

Jinks Middle School

Merritt Brown Middle School

Mowat Middle School

Surfside Middle School (Panama City Beach)

Elementary schools

Callaway Elementary School

Cedar Grove Elementary School

Deer Point Elementary School

Hiland Park Elementary School

Hutchison Beach Elementary School (Panama City Beach)

Lucille Moore Elementary School

Lynn Haven Elementary School

M. Cherry Street Elementary School

Millville Elementary School

Northside Elementary School

Oakland Terrace Elementary School

Parker Elementary School

Patronis Elementary School (Panama City Beach)

Patterson Elementary School

Southport Elementary School

St. Andrew Elementary School

Tommy Smith Elementary School

Tyndall Elementary School

Waller Elementary School

West Bay Elementary School

Public transportation

Major highways

See also: List of county roads in Bay County, Florida

Bay County does not have any interstate connections; the nearest connection is with I-10 at US-231 near Cottondale.

• US 98
• US 231
• SR 20
• SR 22
• SR 30
• SR 30A
• SR 77
• SR 79
• SR 368
• SR 388
• SR 389
• SR 390
• SR 391

Airports

The Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport opened for commercial flights in 2010. It connects the region to several major airports in the South and Midwest.

Public surface transportation

The county operates the Bayway (formerly Bay Town Trolley), which runs several routes in and around Panama City. The county also have a greyhound in Panama City.^[23]

Library

Bay County is part of the Northwest Regional Library System^[24] (NWRLS), which also serves Gulf and Liberty Counties. The Bay County Public Library is the headquarters library for the system. The Bay County Board of Commissioners is the system's governing authority and single administrative unit.^[25]

Locations:

• Bay County Public Library
• Panama City Beach Public Library
• Parker Public Library
• Springfield Public Library
• Gulf County Public Library
• Charles Whitehead Public Library
• Harrell Memorial Library of Liberty County
• Jimmy Weaver Memorial Library
• Bay County Law Library (at the Bay County Public Library)^[26]

Communities

Panama City Beach

Cities

• Callaway
• Lynn Haven
• Mexico Beach
• Panama City
• Panama City Beach
• Parker
• Springfield

Census-designated places

• Cedar Grove
• Laguna Beach
• Lower Grand Lagoon
• Pretty Bayou
• Tyndall AFB
• Upper Grand Lagoon

Unincorporated communities

• Bayou George
• Cedar Grove
• Fountain
• Glenwood
• Millville
• Sand Hills
• Santa Monica
• Southport
• Sunnyside
• Vicksburg
• Youngstown

Former Census-designated places

• Hiland Park

See also

• Florida portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bay County, Florida

Notes