8481 Imperial Circle
Pal, FL 34222

History[edit]

A post office called Palmetto has been in operation since 1868.^[4] Samuel Sparks Lamb is considered the "Father of Palmetto," having surveyed and plotted the city at its outset and donated several plots of land.^[5] He owned a general merchandise store in town.^[6] The city received its name from the palmetto trees near the original town site.^[7]

Geography[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km²), of which 4.3 square miles (11 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (2.92%) is water.

Demographics[edit]

As of the census of 2010,^[10] there were 12,606 people, 4,891 households, and 3,192 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,865.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,096.2/km²). There were 6,729 housing units at an average density of 1,529.4 per square mile (585.13/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.10% White, 10.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 14.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.3% of the population.^[11]

There were 4,891 total households: 3,192 (65.3%) family households and 1,699 (34.7%) non-family households. Of the 3,192 family households 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present. Within all households, 28.1% were made up of householders living alone and 14.8% had the individual living alone and was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07.

In Palmetto, the age distribution among the population includes 24.8%% being 19 years old and under, 5.6% from 20 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females there were 100.012 males. For every 100 males age 18 and over, there were 98.86 females.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $34,093, and the median income for a family was $40,132. Males had a median income of $26,526 versus $21,290 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,724. About 9.5% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education[edit]

Palmetto is home to Blackburn, Palmetto, James Tillman, Virgil Mills and Palmview Elementary Schools, Lincoln and Buffalo Creek Middle Schools and Palmetto High School. Charter schools include Manatee School for the Arts (grades 6-12), Imagine School of North Manatee (grades K-8) and Palmetto Charter School (grades K-8).

Media[edit]

The metro area has TV broadcasting stations that serve the Tampa-Saint Petersburg-Sarasota (DMA) as defined by Nielsen Media Research.

Notable people[edit]

• Ralph Haben, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.^[12]
• Willie Taggart, Head Football Coach at Western Kentucky University.^[13]
• Mistral Raymond, former NFL defensive back for the Minnesota Vikings and former captain at the University of South Florida.