Flagler County, FL, vs. Suffolk County, MA.
Massachusetts’ pride, Suffolk County, is possibly losing people. How does it compare to America’s fastest growing county last year, Flagler County in Florida, according to the 2000 Census?
| Suffolk | Flagler | |
| Population | 689,907 | 49,832 |
| White | 52.1% | 83.6% |
| Black | 22.2% | 8.8% |
| Hispanic | 15.5% | 5.1% |
| Foreign-born | 25.5% | 9.9% |
| Other than English* | 33.8% | 11.2% |
| Median Family Income | $44,361 | $45,502 |
| Median Household Income | $39,355 | $40,214 |
| Per Capita Income | $22,766 | $21,879 |
| Poverty Rate, Individuals | 19.0% | 8.7% |
| Poverty Rate, Families | 14.9% | 6.7% |
| Median value, single family house** | $187,300*** | $116,200 |
Bush narrowly won Flagler in 2004. Suffolk went to Hugo Chavez by a wide margin.
Flagler had two murders in 2003 (by that time the population had already ballooned to 60,000+) for a moderately low homicide rate of 3.3/100,000. I don’t know how many murders Suffolk county had, by I imagine the homicide rate was about twice that much (Boston had an unusually low murder rate that year, compared to 2001, 2002, and 2004). The Sheriff’s log (sort of) doesn’t exactly read like a small-town one with robberies, jail breaks, drug rings and what not.
Of America’s 100 fastest growing counties last year, not one was in the Norteast.
* That is, speak a language other than English at home. Marque uno por servicio en Castellano.
** I don’t even want to hear about the square footage. Eh, betcha they’re all anchored-down double-wides down there. Duck for hurricanes (actually, only less than 10% are “mobile homes”).
*** That’s what the Census says.
Btw, the Census estimate for Suffolk in 2003 is so out of range it’s not even funny. I buy that the county has lost 33,000 whites, net, since 2000 (after all, beeatching about white plight is my niche in the Hubblogosphere). But some 10,000 non-whites on top of that? Net? Come on. The number of Latinos increased by only 2,000 from 2000 according to the American Community Survey 2003. That’s just silly.
