Fast Facts about Cape Coral
• Cape Coral is 120 square miles making it the third largest city in Florida (behind Jacksonville and Tampa). It's the largest city in Southwest Florida.
• Most populous city between Miami and Tampa with over 167,000 fulltime residents. Cape Coral is only forty-five percent developed and its built-out population will be more than 400,000.
• Cape Coral/Fort Myers MSA ranked 20th by Bizjournals in its list of best places in the United States to launch a small business.
• Cape Coral/Fort Myers MSA ranked#1 in Job Growth by Forbes.com 2007 and #1 “Best Performing Cities” in Inc magazine for 2006.
• More than 6,000 businesses, including manufacturers who sell to customers throughout the world.
• More than 400 miles of waterways including 156 miles of fresh water canals connecting dozens of lakes, 222 miles of salt water access canals and 31 miles of shoreline providing boater access to the Gulf of Mexico.
• Median age is only 43. (ESRI, 2009)
• Median home value is $221,902 and median household income is $56,072. (ESRI Sept. 2008)
• 57% of population is working age (18 – 65 years).
• 87% of the work force has a high school diploma or better.
• Second lowest index crime rate of Florida cities with populations over 150,000.
City of Cape Coral History and Growth
The City of Cape Coral is located in southwest Florida in Lee County. Cape Coral history began 40 years ago when two brothers, Leonard & Jack Rosen, concluded that the area’s location on the Gulf Coast could provide almost endless opportunities for waterfront living in the abundant sunshine.
They purchased property, platted the community, and created more than 400 miles of canals. The largest concentration of earth moving equipment in Florida history was used to excavate the Cape Coral canals and prepare home sites, commercial areas, and industrial districts. The brothers implemented a global marketing campaign that resulted in the sale of nearly all 350,000 residential building sites, the majority to people living in other states and nations.
In the ceaseless promotion of the City of Cape Coral, the Rosen brothers, along with other land developers, helped to introduce millions of people to the benefits of living in Florida. By selling home sites on installment, the price of waterfront real estate became affordable for even blue-collar Americans. At one point in the 1960’s the Rosens were spending more money than the state government on promoting Florida and the City of Cape Coral.
The city now occupies a large peninsula bordered by the Caloosahatchee River on the east and Matlacha Pass on the west. It is located about 120 miles south of Tampa and 40 miles north of Naples. Since incorporating in August, 1970 Cape Coral’s population has experienced rapid growth. With more than 167,000 residents, Cape Coral’s population is growing at about 5% per year. Cape Coral is among the fastest growing cities in the United States. The City of Cape Coral is approximately 45% developed.
Cape Coral is also the state’s third largest city by land mass – 120 square miles. The city features thousands of waterfront residential properties on canals including many with direct saltwater access to the Gulf of Mexico.
