Cape Coral

Cape Coral is one of the largest master-planned communities in the nation. Founded in 1970, the city was designed to be a “water wonderland” that is strategically located between Tampa and Miami. The Cape is a widely renowned place to live and is a vibrant and youthful city, where businesses thrive, and life is rich with educational, cultural and recreational opportunities. Cape Coral is home to more than 138,000 residents, 4,000 businesses and the growth continues.

The Cape Coral Economic Development Office is available to assist owners in establishing a successful business, provide information on incentives, property location and direction as they navigate through the relocation and construction process

Your market is here! Cape Coral is the fastest growing city in the Eastern United States and Florida for populations over 100,000. The growth rate for business is 12 percent.

• Strategic Location:

Cape Coral is the midpoint city between Tampa and Miami. Almost 75 percent of Florida’s population is within 150 miles of Cape Coral and easily accessible via I-75. The Cape is 10 miles from I-75 and close to U.S. 41. Southwest Florida International airport is only 15 miles away.

• Youthful, Educated Labor force:

About 55 percent of the population is age 44 or younger, and the median age is 41. The fastest growing population segment in Cape Coral is among the 18-24 age group. Businesses can choose from a pool of more than 383,000 skilled workers from the tri-county area.

• Investment Opportunities:

With a total of 115 square miles of land, Cape Coral is the 3rd largest city in Florida in terms of land mass. The city offers three distinct investment zones (City Centrum, Pine Island Corridor and Downtown CRA), which have more than 70 square miles of unimproved land and two Free Trade Zones.

• Resource Availability:

Aggressive plans are in place to provide water/sewer/irrigation. Telecom companies provide fiber optics and other advanced services all over the Cape. The Reverse Osmosis plant in Cape Coral offers a safe and reliable supply of potable water. Roadways are established, and traffic flows easily. In fact, the Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area was ranked No. 5 in the 2003 America’s Most Drivable Cities report by MSN House & Home.

• Affordable Cost of Living:

The City of Cape Coral (as with all of Florida) has no personal income tax. Reasonably priced housing is available with the median house price is $200,483. Residents enjoy low taxes, efficient City services and a good economic climate.

Take pleasure in the Cape Coral lifestyle. The city has 400 miles of freshwater and saltwater canals, gulf access, waterfront sports, community activities and low crime rates. Cape Coral is the third safest city in Florida for populations over 100,000 according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

• Emerging clusters:

Businesses and industries, such as aerospace, marine fabrication, defense contracting, transportation and the business services sector, make their home in Cape Coral.

• Pro-Business Attitude:

The City of Cape Coral’s Economic Development Office works to create a pro-business climate that helps businesses to succeed and grow in an explosive market. For the second consecutive year, corporate real estate executives rank Florida as the 2nd best state offering a pro-business climate. (Site Selection, Nov/2002) and the Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area is ranked No. 3 on the Milken Institute’s 2003 list of Best Performing Cities Where Jobs are Created.

Cape Coral is the most populous city between Tampa and Miami. More than 62 percent of the population is between the ages of 15-64 and residents under 25 outnumber residents over 65. Southwest Florida's 18-24 age group is growing at a faster rate than the state of Florida and almost triple that of the United States.

PERMANENT POPULATION				MEDIAN AGE
Cape Coral	2000	2006	2010	1980	1990	2000
Cape Coral	102,286	158,927	206,927	50.0	39.9	41.6

FUNCTIONAL POPULATION PROJECTIONS
Cape Coral	2006	2010	2015	2020
Cape Coral	187,543	247,543	307,534	367,534

Florida's community colleges rank No. 1 in retaining and graduating students and have performed significantly higher in retaining and graduating students than the other 15 Southern states in the SREB* district, including Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
(*Southern Regional Education Board, December 2002)

The total labor force in the tri-county area of Lee, Charlotte and Collier is about 389,200. With several regional colleges and universities, businesses have a large pool of skilled workers.

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT PROJECTS
	2005	2010	2015	2020	2025
K-5	8,898	10,895	13,161	15,284	17,159
6-8	4,694	5,747	6,942	8,062	9,051
9-12	5,153	6,309	7,622	8,851	9,937

Cape Coral History

Cape Coral was built about 40 years ago by two land speculators who believed that the property's location on the Gulf Coast provided abundant sunshine and almost endless opportunities for waterfront living. The Rosen brothers purchased the property, platted the community and created more than 400 miles of canals. At 114 square miles, Cape Coral is the second largest city in the state of Florida. The brothers began a massive marketing campaign that resulted in the sale of nearly all of the 350,000 residential building sites, the majority to people who lived in other states.
One of the fastest growing areas in Florida
The City incorporated in August 1970, and its population continues to grow rapidly. With nearly 150,000 residents, Cape Coral is one of the fastest growing areas in Florida. Cape Coral is the 2nd largest city geographically in the state of Florida and is the 11th largest city in population. The city features thousands of waterfront residential properties on canals, including many with direct, saltwater access to the Gulf of Mexico and Charlotte Harbor. The supply and affordability of these waterfront sites makes Cape Coral one of the most attractive communities on the Gulf Coast.

The city is a large peninsula bordered by the Caloosahatchee River on the east and Matlacha Pass on the west. It is located between Sarasota and Marco Island.

Climate

One of the most attractive features of Cape Coral and Southwest Florida is its terrific year-round weather. The area averages 335 days of bright sunshine each year (the other 30 days are just moderate sunshine). While the summers are very warm, humid and rainy, the winters in Cape Coral are absolutely beautiful.

Southwest Florida receives about 53 inches of rain each year, the majority of which falls from May through September. During the summer months, afternoon rains regularly roll in with heavy downpours and stormy conditions that may last only a couple of hours before subsiding. Then the sun reappears, heat and humidity return, and all is well until the next day when the cycle begins again.

The city is affected by the annual hurricane season, which begins June 1 and continues through November.

Air Temperatures:
Annual Average: 74.4 F
High Average: 84.1 F
Low Average: 64.7 F

Annual Rainfall: 53.37 inches