TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

County Continues Growth Spurt

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL D. BATES

Hernando Today

Published: January 21, 2009

With one exception, Hernando County's population is expected to grow 11.77 percent by 2012, faster than any other county in the Tampa Bay region.

The Tampa Bay Partnership (TBP) is calculating that growth using actual and projected statistics from 2007-12.

The Partnership, which tracks economic and other trends in Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota counties, recently released its regional profile for 2008.

Of those seven counties, the biggest population-loser is Pinellas County, which is only forecast to grow 2.12 percent through 2012.

Only Pasco County is expected to grow faster during that five-year time span - 13.44 percent.

Overall, Tampa Bay's population has grown more than 14 percent in the past seven years and is projected to grow an additional 9 percent by 2012 - with more than 700,000 new people moving to the area.

Larry Henson, TBP business intelligence officer, said Hernando and Pasco counties are in the "path of growth."

Counties to the south are becoming built-out and the lure of more land, attractive home prices and lower taxes - along with a major connector road in Suncoast Parkway - is what will drive people northward, he said.

Henson said he knows people in Hernando complain of high taxes and the state of the economy. Many people believe the economic grass is always greener in other counties or other states, he said.

But that is not so.

"You've got to look around (and see) it's all relative," Henson said.

For example, the tax rates in Hillsborough and Sarasota counties are higher than Pasco and Hernando, he said.

Henson said there is also a trend of younger families moving to Pasco and Hernando County, which should lead to more jobs.

The Bureau of Economic & Business Research (BEBR) has updated statistics providing a tighter snapshot of Hernando County.

As of Dec. 31, Hernando County's total population was 165,973, according to BEBR.

The city of Brooksville is home to 7,640 people, or 4.6 percent of the county's population. Spring Hill has 93,066 people, or 56.1 percent.

The city of Weeki Wachee has a population of 8.

By far, the largest percentage of Hernando Countians is between the ages of 35-54: 39,088, or 23.55 percent.

The next largest age group (33,362 or 20.10 percent) is those 65-70.

There are twice as many people age 80 and older than there are age 0-4.

Other Hernando County stats:

•The average per-person income is $27,478. The median household income is $44,172.

•There are 6,550 people, or 10.2 percent, unemployed (as of November 2008)

•Almost 93 percent of the population is white, and 4 percent is African-American.

•The females in Hernando County out number the males by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent.

Kenneth Russ, vice president of business services for Pasco-Hernando Workforce Board, said Hernando County and the rest of Florida has traditionally attracted retirees.

But, as housing and cost of living costs increase, more seniors are eyeing states such as North Carolina and Arizona, he said.

That could affect future population demographics, especially with the influx of younger families.

Meanwhile, Russ said the large unemployment rate in Hernando County - 10.2 percent in November - has created somewhat of a "buyer's market" for employers because they have the luxury of picking and choosing from a large work force.

Stuart Rogel, president and CEO of the Partnership, told Hernando Today last month that Hernando County is favorably positioned to compete in the job market because of its successful airport, industrial park, rail line and the proximity to urban areas from the Suncoast Parkway and Interstate 75.

The key, he said, is to diversify industry in Hernando County and the Tampa Bay region to avoid these "boom-and-bust" economic cycles promoted by a dependence on the construction industry.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT