Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Miami. The population was 42,249 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 42,871. [link]
Coral Gables is an extremely affluent city; its residents include upper class businesspeople and professionals. The city is well known for its restaurants, art galleries, unique shops and boutiques and live theatre performances.
Coral Gables was one of the first planned communities, and prefigured the development of the gated community and the homeowners association. It was at one point notorious for its aesthetic regulations, but they pale compared to those currently practiced by homeowners associations. The city was developed by George Merrick in the 1920s. The city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean.
Alhambra Water Tower
Merrick designed the downtown commercial district to be only four blocks wide and more than two miles long. The area was once serviced by a free trolley system that ran down Ponce de Leon Boulevard, the main artery disecting the business district. Merrick could boast that every business in Coral Gables was less than a two block walk. The old trolley system was replaced by the popularity of modern automobiles until a new free trolley system was initiated in November, 2003. Now, Coral Gables is known as a pedestrian-friendly destination. Located only four miles from Miami International Airport, the "City Beautiful" boasts more than 140 dining establishments and gourmet shops, plus many notable international retailers.
Coral Gables is well-known as the Totem Pole capital of the world.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.2 km² (37.2 mi²). 34.0 km² (13.1 mi²) of it is land and 62.2 km² (24.0 mi²) of it (64.64%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 42,249 people, 16,793 households, and 10,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,242.4/km² (3,216.9/mi²). There were 17,849 housing units at an average density of 524.9/km² (1,359.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.83% White, 3.30% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.49% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.64% of the population.
There were 16,793 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.4% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,839, and the median income for a family was $98,553. Males had a median income of $66,178 versus $39,444 for females. The per capita income for the city was $46,163. About 4.3% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
