ZIP Code 34945

Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 47,297. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It was the largest city on Florida's Atlantic Coast between Daytona Beach and West Palm Beach until 1970 when it was surpassed by Melbourne. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Sunset City. The Fort Pierce Beach Shore Protection project includes 1.3 miles of shore line running from immediately south of the Fort Pierce Inlet southward to Surfside Park. The project is on a two-year renourishment cycle due to impacts to the beach from the federal navigation project at Fort Pierce inlet. In 1984, a 92 square-nautical-mile (316 km²) portion of these reefs was designated the "Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern" In 1994, the area was closed to all manner of bottom fishing and was redesignated as a research reserve. In 2000, the marine protected area was expanded to 300 square nautical miles (1,030 km²), and prohibited all gears that caused mechanical disruption to the habitat. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the total cost of the project to be $75.9 million, with an estimated Federal Government share of $46.4 million. Fort Pierce has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and drier winters.

History

Fort Pierce is the primary city name, but also Hutchinson Is, Hutchinson Island are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Fort Pierce. It was the largest city on Florida's Atlantic Coast between Daytona Beach and West Palm Beach until 1970 when it was surpassed by Melbourne. It was named after the Fort Pierce Army post which was built nearby in 1838 during the Second Seminole War. The military post had been named for Benjamin Kendrick Pierce, a career United States Army officer and the brother of President Franklin Pierce. It is now the home of the University of Florida's football team, the St. Petersburg 49ers, and the Florida Panhandle 49ers football team. It has a population of 1.2 million. It also has a high school football team and a high-school basketball team, both of which are based in the city of Melbourne. The city is home to the U.S. Naval Academy, which was founded in 1788 and was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1805. It's also home to Florida State College, which opened in 1858. It had a high rate of births between 1837 and 1841. It now has a low rate of deaths, with the highest rate in the state being in the early 1990s. It hosts the Florida Open, a competition for high school and college football teams that tests students' knowledge of the state's history and culture. The state's high school team is made up of students from Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The university's high-ranking football team is the Florida State 49ers. The town has a football team that is based in Florida and Florida State University, which is also based in Tampa.

Geography

Fort Pierce has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and warm, drier winters. The Experimental Oculina Research Reserve preserves the reef of ivory bush coral (Oculina varicosa) off the coast of Fort Pierce, Florida. The city is also known for its large manatee population. The Fort Pierce Beach Shore Protection project includes 1.3 miles of shore line running from immediately south of the Fort Pierce Inlet southward to Surfside Park. Starting in 2012, construction began to create 12 artificial barrier islands including oyster beds, lime rock artificial reefs, mangrove fringes and coastal dune. The "core" of the islands was constructed of TITANTubes, sometimes referred to as geotextile tubes or geotubes, manufactured by Flint Industries and covered by a coastal marine mattress and then armor stone. The project was completed in 2013 after six years of planning, permitting and construction and a cost of $18 million. The sponsor, St. Lucie County, is preparing a General Reevaluation Report (GRR) for the project at their own expense that will evaluate extending Federal participation for an additional 50 years. Current Federal participation expires in 2020. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the total cost of the project to be $75.9 million, with an estimated U.S. Federal Government share of $46.4 million. No funding for theproject was requested by the U. s. President from the US. Congress in Fiscal Year 2016.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 41,910 people, 15,170 households, and 9,418 families residing in the city. There were 17,170 housing units at an average density of 1,164.7 per square mile (449.7/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 40.9% African American, 45.3% White, 0.6% Native American, 0,9% Asian, 0.,1% Pacific Islander, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 21.6%. The median income for a household in theCity was $30,869, and the median income. for a family was $36,337. The per capita income for the city is $16,782. 30.2% of the population were below the poverty line. The city's population is expected to grow to 41,000 by the 2020 census. It has a population density of 2,021.9 inhabitants per squaremile (780.7 /km²). The city has a median age of 35.2 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.9 males. The U.S. 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 can be of any race. It is not possible to list all the races and ethnicities in this table.

Economy

An average of 350,000 tons of waterborne commerce moves through Fort Pierce Harbor annually. Major commodities which are dependent on the port include citrus exports, cement and aragonite imports. The last navigation improvements at Fort Pierce were authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 1988 dated November 17, 1988 and construction was completed in August 1996. The existing entrance channel is 400 feet wide and 30 feet deep. In late 2014 dredging efforts were completed inFort Pierce Harbor. The dredging effort included both beach placement of beach quality sand on the beach immediately south of the Inlet as well as placement of non beachquality sand in the approved offshore disposal area. The north access channel is located immediately north of the main turning basin is 1,250 feet long and 250 feet wide. The interior channel is 250 feetwide and 28 feet deep, and the existing turning basin was 1,100 feet square and 28ft deep. The current entrance channel and the interior channel are both 400 feet long, 250 feet deep and 28 ft wide. In addition, the interior and north access channels are both 1,000 feet wide, 250 ft deep and 1,500 ft wide respectively. The entrance channel to the harbor is located at the entrance to the Port of Fort Pierce, Florida. It is located on the east side of the Florida Keys. The harbor is one of the busiest ports in the United States for the shipping of citrus, cement, and other commodities. The port is home to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is responsible for much of the fishing in the area.

Arts and culture

The city of Fort Pierce, Florida is home to the U.S. Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (Fort Pierce was the original home of the United States Navy SEALs) and the St. Lucie County Regional History Center. Fort Pierce is also home to a number of tourist attractions, such as the Old Fort Pierce City Hall and the Lincoln Park Main Street. The city is located on the Florida Turnpike, which was built in the early 1900s. It is located in the Florida Keys, which were once part of the state of Florida, and is now part of Florida  Florida Insurance and Puerto Caribbean. The town has a population of about 2.5 million people, with about 1.7 million of whom live in Fort Pierce and the surrounding areas. The population of the city is about 3.6 million, with the majority of its residents living in and around Fort Pierce. The area has a high percentage of residents who live in or near Fort Pierce or the surrounding area, and a low percentage of those who live elsewhere in Florida or in the U.S., with most of the population living in or around the cities of Port St Lucie and St. Peculier. The majority of residents live in the city's downtown area, which includes the City Hall, Old Fort Park, and Lincoln Park, which is located near the Florida Power and Light Energy Encounter. The City of Fort Pierce is home to several museums, galleries and other tourist attractions.

Government

The city of Fort Pierce has a councilmanager government form of local government. The offices of commissioner and mayor are nonpartisan, and have a term of four years. The city has a population of about 2,000 people. The mayor is elected for a four-year term, and the commissioner for a two-yearterm. The councilmanager form of government is the most popular form of city government.

Education

The state of Florida is home to many colleges and universities. The state also has a number of high schools and middle schools. The schools are: elementary, middle, and high schools. They are:Elementary, middle school, high school and high school. The high schools include Fort Pierce Central High School, Westwood Academy, Lincoln Park Academy, and Saint Andrew's Academy. The middle schools include Forest Grove Middle School, Lakewood Park Elementary School, and White City Elementary School. The universities are: Florida Atlantic University, Indian River State College, Florida State University Medical School Regional Campus, and the University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center. The colleges are: high schools, middle schools, and colleges. They include: Fort Pierce Magnet School of the Arts, Westwood Academy and Lincoln Park Academy. They also include high schools: Faith Baptist School, Central High, Lakewood Park, Lawnwood, St. Andrew's, John Carroll Catholic High, and Pierce Central High. The college campuses are: Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Indian River State College, Florida State University Medical School Regional Campus and Florida State University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center. The universities are: Fort Pierce University, Southwest University, University of Florida Medical School Regional Campus,  Indian River State College, River State College Region 1, North State University of Florida Regent State, College State and State University  campuses in Florida.

Infrastructure

Fort Pierce is located on U.S. Route 1, near its intersection with Florida State Road 70. Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike are nearby, at the west edge of town. The nearest airport with scheduled passenger service is in Melbourne; the closest major airport is in West Palm Beach. Fort Pierce is served by the St. Lucie Transportation Planning Organization (TPO). The original bus system started as a demand response service bus in the 1990s. In 2002, the Florida Department of Transportation approved funding, expanding the bus service to Martin County, and it became the Treasure Coast Connector. From 1894 to 1968 the Florida East Coast Railway served the city as a passenger railroad. In 2018, Brightline announced that it was looking at downtown properties for a site for a new station for the train between Fort Pierce and Miami. Ultimately, the northwestern terminus would be Orlando, with service beginning in 2021. The latter operations would be part of the second phase of the private Brightline inter-city rail project. The cities cited by Brightline include: Stuart, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Melbourne, Titusville, Cocoa, Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, Florida. The city has a general aviation airport, Treasure Coast International Airport. The airport is located in the heart of Fort Pierce's central business district, near the city's downtown area. It is the only airport in the state that has scheduled passenger passenger service. It also has a private airfield, the Fort Pierce-Melbourne Airport.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Fort Pierce, Saint Lucie County, Florida = 92.6. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 55. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 80. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Fort Pierce = 6.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 47,297 individuals with a median age of 33.1 age the population grows by 5.09% in Fort Pierce, Saint Lucie County, Florida population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,988.02 residents per square mile of area (767.59/km²). There are average 2.53 people per household in the 15,315 households with an average household income of $31,327 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 17.80% of the available work force and has dropped -5.55% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 11.10%. The number of physicians in Fort Pierce per 100,000 population = 121.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Fort Pierce = 53.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 129. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 234. 90 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 53.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 26, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Fort Pierce, Saint Lucie County, Florida which are owned by the occupant = 43.25%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 32 years with median home cost = $48,810 and home appreciation of -12.49%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.61 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,006 per student. There are 19.1 students for each teacher in the school, 1021 students for each Librarian and 392 students for each Counselor. 4.64% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 8.39% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.84% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).