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Florida Trend: 55th Anniversary
In Trend's Time: 55 years of Florida business history
Florida Trend turned 55 this year. My, how things can change.
The founding of Florida Trend by Tampa businessman Harris Mullen wasn’t the only Florida milestone in 1958. That year, a decision by the Florida Supreme Court limited the practice of real estate to persons licensed and registered in accordance with Florida law. In addition, the first mile of Florida interstate highways was paved, the first FHA-insured co-op went up in Fort Lauderdale and the first satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral.
Population
» In 1950, Florida ranked 20th in population. It now ranks fourth and is expected to overtake New York for third.
Homeownership
» In 1960, the rate of homeownership in Florida was 67.5%. In 2011, it was 69.0%.
Poverty
» The percentage of Floridians below the poverty line was 16.4% in 1969. In 2011, it was 14.7%
Income
» Median household income in 1969 was $8,261 ($32,368 in 1999 dollars). In 2011, median household income was $47,827.
Migration and Diversity
» Between 1955-60, 85,302 foreign immigrants moved to Florida. Between 1995-2000, that number was 652,606 — 26% of all people who moved to Florida in that period.
» The Hispanic portion of Florida’s population has grown from about 6% in 1970 to close to 22% today. The African-American portion has grown in recent decades from 14% to about 16%.
» Most people who move to Florida are young, but so are most people who move out. New York has been the leading source of in-migrants to Florida for more than four decades.
» The 2010 Census was the first to tally same-sex couples and their children; 2012 Census data revealed that Fort Lauderdale boasts the highest concentration of same-sex couples in the U.S. — 2.8% of all households, according to the website Florida Agenda.