Pompano Beach (POM-p-noh) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale and 36 miles north of Miami. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6.14 million people in 2020. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,046, making it the sixth-largest city in Broward County, the ninth-largest city in the South Florida metropolitan area, and the 20th-largest city in Florida.
Pompano Beach Airpark, located within the city, is the home of the Goodyear Blimp Spirit of Innovation.
Tequesta Indians lived in the area.
The city's name is derived from the Florida pompano (carolinus), a fish found off the Atlantic coast.
There had been scattered settlers in the area since at least the mid-1880s, but the first documented permanent residents of the Pompano area were George Butler and Frank Sheen and their families, who arrived in 1896 as railway employees. The first train arrived in the small Pompano settlement on February 22, 1896. It is said that Sheen gave the community its name after jotting down on his survey of the area the name of the fish he had for dinner. The coming of the railroad led to development farther west from the coast. In 1906, Pompano became the southernmost settlement in newly created Palm Beach County. That year, the Hillsboro Lighthouse was completed on the beach.
On July 3, 1908, a new municipality was incorporated in what was then Dade County: the Town of Pompano. John R. Mizell was elected the first mayor. In 1915, Broward County was established, with a northern boundary at the Hillsboro Canal. Thus, within eight years, Pompano had been in three counties. Pompano Beach experienced significant growth during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. In 1940, the U.S. Supreme Court disallowed forced confessions in Chambers v. Florida, a dispute stemming from a murder in Pompano Beach.
Following the population boom due to World War II, in 1947, the City of Pompano merged with the newly formed municipality on the beach and became the City of Pompano Beach. In 1950, the population of the city reached 5,682. Like most of southeast Florida, Pompano Beach experienced great growth in the late 20th century as many people moved there from northern parts of the United States. A substantial seasonal population also spends its winters in the area. The city of Pompano Beach celebrated its centennial in 2008. It is twinned with West Bromwich in the United Kingdom.
The majority of the initial inhabitants, both African American and white, in this region migrated from northern Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, while some black residents also came from the Bahamas.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.4 square miles (of which 24.0 square miles (is land and 1.4 square miles (or 5.54%, is water.
A 2017 study showed 73,000 residents living within FEMA's coastal floodplain.
Pompano Beach is in northeastern Broward County along the Atlantic Ocean. It includes about 3 miles (of beachfront, extending from the intersection of State Road A1A and Terra Mar Drive to the Hillsboro Inlet. The city is bounded by the following municipalities:
On its northeast:
On its north:
On its west:
On its southwest:
On its south:
On its southeast:
Pompano Beach has a tropical monsoon climate (with hot, humid summers and warm winters.
These are the neighborhoods and communities that are officially recognized by the City of Pompano Beach.
As of 2010, Italian-Americans made up 8.5% of the population, forming the second largest ancestry group in the city.
As of 2010, before annexation of other areas, Pompano Beach has the highest concentration of residents of Haitian ancestry in the country, at 9.3% of the population. while it had the highest percentage of Brazilians in the US, at 2.67%.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $36,073, and the median income for a family was $44,195. Males had a median income of $31,162 versus $26,870 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,938. About 13.1% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, before many of the unincorporated areas were annexed to the city, those who spoke only English were 76.4% of the population, while those who spoke Spanish as a mother tongue were 9.3%, while French Creole (Haitian Creole) was at 6.2%, French at 2.4%, Portuguese 1.5%, German was 1.0%, and Italian as a first language made up 0.9% of the population.
Data for previously unincorporated areas that are now part of Pompano Beach:
Although there are about 17 post-secondary schools within 10 miles (of downtown Pompano Beach, the majority of these are for-profit schools or schools that specialize in a specific field. Students may prefer postsecondary schools that offer programs in a wider variety of disciplines, especially if a student has yet to settle on a specific field of study. Pompano Beach is also the registered office for Augustine Graduate School, a post-secondary school, named for the North African theologian, philosopher, educator, and scholar Augustine, the graduate school offers graduate programs in the areas of psychology, philosophy, theology, education, and business; additionally the graduate school offers graduate certificates in various areas.
Broward County Public Schools operates public K12 schools.
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami operates the Saint Coleman K8 school in Pompano Beach; it opened on September 9, 1958. The archdiocese formerly operated the St. Elizabeth of Hungary School. The church attempted to resolve its debt to the archdiocese by loaning $2.13 million from Bank of America, and the school had $337,000 in debt in 2009, and it ballooned to $1.3 million of debt in the 20092010 school year. It closed on June 15, 2010.
In recent years, an effort to rejuvenate rundown areas near the city's beach has gained momentum and has stimulated a multibillion-dollar building boom. Community redevelopment agencies were established for the East Atlantic/Beach corridor, as well as for the old downtown and Hammondville/Martin Luther King Jr. corridor.
Companies based in Pompano Beach include Associated Grocers of Florida. Nonprofits include Cross International.
According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:
Pompano Beach holds several annual cultural events including the Pompano Beach Seafood Festival, St. Patrick's Irish Festival, St. Coleman's Italian Festival, the Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade, The Holiday Yuletide Parade, The Annual Nautical Flea Market at Pompano Community Park & Amphitheater, and The Annual Blues and Sweet Potato Pie "Juneteenth" Festival.
The Kester Cottages (Pompano Beach Historical Museum), Blanche Ely House Museum, Meridian Gallery, The Historic Ali Cultural Arts Center, Bailey Contemporary Arts, and Pompano Beach Art Gallery are located in the city. Two theatres in the area include Curtain Call Playhouse and Poet Productions. There are two malls in Pompano Beach. The first is Festival Flea Market Mall, which houses booths and kiosks selling jewelry, electronics, and clothing. The other, Pompano Citi Centre, is an open-air mall.
Pompano Beach Municipal Golf Course has two 18-hole courses, the Palms, and the Pines, which opened in 2013.
Parks include Pompano Beach Community Park, Kester Park, Cresthaven Park, Harbors Edge Park, and Scott Meyers Memorial Park.[citation needed] Fern Forest Nature Center is just across the Coconut Creek city boundary.
Pompano Beach Community Park features an aquatic center, pickleball courts, basketball courts, soccer fields, jogging paths, and baseball fields. Prior to 2008, this park was the location of the Pompano Beach Municipal Stadium, which served as the spring training camp for the Washington Senators from 1961 to 1971 and the Texas Rangers from 1972 through 1986.
In 2004, John Rayson became the first elected mayor of Pompano Beach. Prior mayors had been selected by city commissioners from among themselves. The vice mayor continues to be selected by city commissioners from among themselves. At the federal level, Pompano Beach is located in Florida's 20th congressional district, which is represented by Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. The current Mayor at Large is Rex Hardin.
Pompano Beach is a part of the MiamiFort LauderdaleHollywood media market, which is the twelfth-largest radio market and the seventeenth-largest television market in the United States. Its primary daily newspapers are the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Miami Herald, and their Spanish-language counterparts El Sentinel and El Nuevo Herald. Local Pompano-based media includes The Pompano Pelican, the longtime local weekly newspaper; the Deerfield-Pompano Beach Forum, published by the Sun-Sentinel Company; Pompano Post Community Newspaper and PompanoFun.com, a website focusing on local entertainment and events; and television program Today in Pompano.
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has its headquarters in Pompano Beach, located next to the Pompano Beach Tri-Rail station.
In addition to Tri-Rail, Pompano Beach is also served by several bus routes operated by Broward County Transit. Two major transfer points are the Northeast Transit Center and Pompano Citi Centre.