Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area
| Bay County, Florida | |||
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The Bay County Courthouse in March 2008
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 Location in the U.S. state of Florida |
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 Florida's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | April 24, 1913 | ||
| Named for | St. Andrews Bay | ||
| Seat | Panama City | ||
| Largest city | Panama City | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 1,033 sq mi (2,675 km2) | ||
| • Land | 758 sq mi (1,963 km2) | ||
| • Water | 275 sq mi (712 km2), 26.6% | ||
| Population (est.) | |||
| • (2015) | 181,635 | ||
| • Density | 223/sq mi (86/km²) | ||
| Congressional district | 2nd | ||
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 | ||
| Website | www |
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Bay County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 168,852. Its county seat is Panama City.
Bay County is included in the Panama City, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is best known for its white sand beaches and emerald green water, where large pods of dolphins swim year-round. These beaches attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year.
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 was descriptive of the territory that would be included. On July 1, 1913, Bay County was created by the Legislature from portions of Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.
It was the site of Gideon v. Wainwright, which gave all persons accused of a crime the right to an attorney.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,033 square miles (2,680 km2), of which 758 square miles (1,960 km2) is land and 275 square miles (710 km2) (26.6%) is water.
As of the census 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/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.
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