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Miramar, Florida
City
City of Miramar
Miramar, Florida neighborhood.png
Motto(s): 
Beauty and Progress
Map of Florida highlighting Miramar.svg
Country  United States
State  Florida
County Logo of Broward County, Florida.svg Broward
Incorporated May 26, 1955
Government
 • Type Commission-Manager
Area
 • City 31.08 sq mi (80.50 km2)
 • Land 28.85 sq mi (74.73 km2)
 • Water 2.23 sq mi (5.77 km2)  5.66%
Elevation
9 ft (2 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 134,721
 • Rank 190th
 • Density 4,669.22/sq mi (1,802.77/km2)
 • Metro
5,762,717 (8th)
 • Metro density 4,134.1/sq mi (1,596.2/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
33023, 33025, 33027, 33029
Area code(s) 754, 954
FIPS code 12-45975
GNIS feature ID 0286974

Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to approximately six million people.

History

Miramar was founded by A.L. Mailman to serve as a "bedroom community" for nearby Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Mailman bought the original property he was to develop from H.D. Perry, Sr. in 1953. He built 56 homes on the property that were inexpensive homes of concrete and flat roofs. These homes sold quickly because of the low cost of both the homes and the land, and the city of Miramar came into being.

The city was incorporated on May 26, 1955 and named for the Cuban city outside of Havana where Mailman had a summer home (Miramar translates to "Look at the Sea" in Spanish). At the time of incorporation, the city had a population of less than two hundred people. With approximately 2.9 square miles land area, Miramar's original city boundaries were Southwest 64 Avenue on the east, University Drive on the west, the Dade County line on the south, and Pembroke Road on the north. On June 20, 1955, the city's first mayor (Robert Gordon) and city council were sworn in, all of which were appointed by the governor and served until January 1959, at which time the first municipal election was held. The city seal is inscribed with the motto "Beauty and Progress".

Mr. H.D. Perry Sr.'s part in Miramar did not cease with selling of the land to Mr. Mailman for development. He is recognized as one of the foremost pioneers in the history of Miramar. His character and civic-activities influenced not only the lives of early residents, but continues to the present-day, as evidenced by the schools and parks in the city which bear his family's name. Many long-time residents fondly recall the community barbecues hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Perry during those early years. Others are grateful to Mr. Perry for the lessons in animal husbandry, which he conducted for the benefit of Miramar's youth so that they could learn something of farm life.

The only major roads when Miramar was developed were U.S. 441 which was a two-lane road at that time, Hallandale Beach Boulevard to Southwest 66 Terrace and Pembroke Road which was a dirt road to University Drive. There were no other transportation routes of any kind supplying access to the new community. Miramar's early city fathers advocated the philosophy of planned and controlled growth. The city adopted a Comprehensive Land Use Plan in 1972 before cities and counties were mandated to do so. This provided the framework for the orderly development of future growth. A fact not widely known is that the residential City of Miramar is one of the largest cities in size in the State of Florida. With 2/3 of land not yet developed, the decision to guide and control the city's growth remains a wise one.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.3 square miles (81.0 km2), of which 29.5 square miles (76.5 km2) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.6 km2) (5.66%) is water.

The city is bordered by the following municipalities:

To the north:

To the northeast:

To the east:

To the south:

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1960 5,485
1970 23,997 337.5%
1980 32,813 36.7%
1990 40,663 23.9%
2000 72,739 78.9%
2010 122,041 67.8%
2020 134,721 10.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Miramar racial composition
(Hispanics excluded from racial categories)
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race Number Percentage
White (NH) 10,816 8.03%
Black or African American (NH) 55,386 41.11%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 135 0.1%
Asian (NH) 7,708 5.72%
Pacific Islander (NH) 25 0.02%
Some Other Race (NH) 1,381 1.03%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) 3,933 2.92%
Hispanic or Latino 55,337 41.08%
Total 134,721

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 134,721 people, 39,853 households, and 31,042 families residing in the city.

2010 census

Miramar Demographics
2010 Census Miramar Broward County Florida
Total population 122,041 1,748,066 18,801,310
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2020 +67.8% +7.7% +17.6%
Population density 4,134.1/sq mi 1,444.9/sq mi 350.6/sq mi
White or Caucasian (including White Hispanic) 41.0% 63.1% 75.0%
(Non-Hispanic White or Caucasian) 11.6% 43.5% 57.9%
Black or African-American 45.7% 26.7% 16.0%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 36.9% 25.1% 22.5%
Asian 5.2% 3.2% 2.4%
Native American or Native Alaskan 0.2% 0.3% 0.4%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
Two or more races (Multiracial) 3.7% 2.9% 2.5%
Some Other Race 4.2% 3.7% 3.6%

As of 2010, there were 40,294 households, with 7.1% being vacant. As of 2000, 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.48.

In 2000, the city's population was spread out, with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $50,289, and the median income for a family was $52,952. Males had a median income of $34,145 versus $28,283 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,462. About 7.0% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as their first language accounted for 60.09% of the population, while Spanish made up 29.99%, French Creole 4.37%, French 2.13%, and Tagalog as a mother tongue was 0.50% of all residents.

As of 2000, Miramar had the fifth highest percentage of Jamaican residents in the United States, with 15.4% of the populace, the 58th highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.51% of the city's population, and the 48th highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, at 8.77% of the city's population. It also had the 78th most Dominicans in the US, at 1.98%, while it had the 31st highest percentage of Haitians (tied with West Little River), at 6% of all residents. Miramar's Trinidadian community had the 12th highest percentage of residents, which was at 1.2% (tied with Wheatley Heights, New York and Neptune City, New Jersey).

Economy

Spirit Airlines moved to Miramar from Eastpointe, Michigan in November 1999. JL Audio and Arise Virtual Solutions are also headquartered in Miramar.

The Leadership in Energy & Environment Design in Miramar houses the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Miami field office and a General Services Administration (GSA) office; named after two FBI agents who died in the 1986 FBI Miami Shootout, it is a 330,000 square feet (31,000 m2) Leadership in Energy & Environment Design (LEED) facility located on a 20-acre (8.1 ha) site. The FBI field office, previously in North Miami Beach, moved to Miramar on December 8, 2014. The building was dedicated on April 10, 2015.

Top employers

According to Miramar's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

# Employer # of Employees Percentage of Total City Employment
1 Comcast of South Florida 1530 4.30%
2 Strayer University 1401 3.94%
3 Royal Caribbean Cruises 1174 3.31%
4 Memorial Hospital Miramar 1147 3.23%
5 City of Miramar 1059 2.98%
6 Humana Medical Plans 887 2.49%
7 Interactive Response Technologies/iQor 707 1.99%
8 Spirit Airlines 622 1.75%
9 Carnival 583 1.64%
10 Quest Diagnostics 472 1.33%

Education

Miramar is served by Broward County Public Schools.

Public schools

  • Coconut Palm Elementary School
  • Coral Cove Elementary School
  • Dolphin Bay Elementary School
  • Fairway Elementary School
  • Miramar Elementary School
  • Sea Castle Elementary School
  • Silver Lakes Elementary School
  • Silver Shores Elementary School
  • Sunset Lakes Elementary School
  • Sunshine Elementary School
  • New Renaissance Middle School
  • Glades Middle School
  • Silver Trail Middle School in Pembroke Pines – People living in the conservation area between Interstate 75 and the county line are zoned to Silver Trail Middle.
  • Annabel C. Perry K–8
  • Everglades High School
  • Miramar High School
  • Henry D. Perry Education Center

Charter schools

  • Somerset Academy Miramar Elementary Charter School
  • Somerset Academy Central Miramar Elementary Charter School
  • Somerset Academy Miramar Middle Charter School
  • Somerset Academy Central Miramar Middle Charter School
  • Somerset Academy Central Miramar High Charter School

Private schools

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami operates Catholic schools. Saint Bartholomew Catholic School is in Miramar.

Saint Stephen Catholic School opened in 1956. It opened in the 1950s and closed in 2009, with the building rented to a charter school.

Trade schools

Higher education

  • Broward College (Miramar Town Center)
  • Broward College (Miramar West Center)
  • Florida International University (FIU) (Miramar West Center)
  • Nova Southeastern University (Miramar Campus)
  • University of Florida MBA (South Florida Campus)

Notable people

  • Jon Beason, NFL football player
  • Daniel Braverman, NFL football player
  • Lionel Brown, professional soccer player and U.S. Virgin Islands national team player
  • David E. Canter, sports agent
  • Wayne Cochran, American soul singer
  • Johnny Depp, actor
  • Jason Derulo, singer
  • Larry Gordon, NFL football player
  • Alcee Hastings, U.S. Representative
  • Tracy Howard, NFL football player
  • Wayne Messam, former presidential candidate
  • Michael Mizrachi, professional poker player
  • Elvis Trujillo, jockey

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Miramar (Florida) para niños

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