Charlotte County, Florida

Charlotte County is a county in Florida, United States, on the state’s Gulf coast about 25 miles
north of Fort Myers. It had a population of 186,847 at the 2020 census, an estimated 217,212 by
2025, and covers 680 square miles (1,761 km2) of land centred near 26°54′N 81°57′W.

Punta Gorda is the county seat and its only incorporated city; its postal code is 33950. The
county holds 1 city, 9 census-designated places and 9 other unincorporated communities, and it
runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 12015.

Towns & Villages in Charlotte County

Charlotte County has 19 named places on record: Punta Gorda is the only incorporated city,
9 more are census-designated places (CDPs) with their own population counts, and 9 are
unincorporated communities too small or too new to be tracked as separate CDPs. CDP stands for
census designated place; Unincorp. covers named communities with no formal boundary or count of
their own.

Three places on this list are shared with a neighbor. Englewood’s population figure above is
countywide — the CDP straddles the Charlotte–Sarasota line, and roughly half its
residents live on the Sarasota side. Boca Grande, the historic village on Gasparilla Island, sits
entirely in Lee County; only the undeveloped northern tip of the island is Charlotte’s, so no
population is counted here. Babcock Ranch, the solar-powered planned community founded in 2018,
spans both Charlotte and Lee counties, with most of its built area on the Lee side.

ZIP Codes

• 33950 — Punta Gorda (also covers Charlotte Park and Solana)
• 33955 — Punta Gorda, west side toward Burnt Store
• 33980 — Punta Gorda, north side toward Charlotte Harbor
• 33948 — Port Charlotte
• 33952, 33953, 33954 — Port Charlotte, additional carrier routes
• 33983 — Deep Creek, delivered from the Punta Gorda post office
• 33947 — Rotonda West
• 34223 — Manasota Key and the Charlotte County side of Englewood
• 34224 — Grove City and the Englewood-Charlotte Harbor CDP border
• 33946 — Placida and Cape Haze
• 33982 — Babcock Ranch, on the Charlotte side

Cleveland, Murdock, Harbour Heights and Charlotte Harbor CDP have no ZIP code fully their own;
mail there is sorted under the nearest Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte route. Don Pedro Island and
the Charlotte tip of Boca Grande are reached only by boat and have no residential postal delivery
at all.

Geography

Charlotte County sits on Florida’s southwestern Gulf coast, where the Peace and Myakka
rivers empty into Charlotte Harbor, one of the state’s largest natural estuaries. Of its
approximately 858 square miles, 680 are land and about 178 are water, close to a fifth of the
county’s total — unusually high, driven by the harbor itself, the barrier islands along
Lemon Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and the lower Peace River. Charlotte Harbor forms the county’s
southern shoreline and drains a watershed that reaches north into DeSoto and Highlands counties.

Sarasota County lies to the northwest, DeSoto County to the north, Highlands County to the
northeast, Glades County to the east, Hendry County to the southeast, and Lee County to the
south. Sarasota County,
Highlands County,
Glades County and
Hendry County all have their own pages
on this site; DeSoto County and Lee County do not have a page under a Florida-specific address at
this time.

Demographics

Charlotte County had a population of 186,847 at the 2020 census, and the most recent estimate
puts the county near 217,212 residents by 2025. Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are the two
largest communities counted wholly inside the county, together holding well over a third of the
total population. Median household income runs an estimated $69,952 (2024), somewhat below
Florida’s statewide figure of $73,311 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to about 275
people per square mile of land, a figure Florida’s own demographic office attributes largely to
the county’s age profile: the 2020 census recorded a median age of 60.2, with 40.4 percent of
residents 65 or older, among the oldest in the state.

Economy & Local Life

Retail trade employs the most workers in the county, about 10,612 people, followed closely by
health care and social assistance at 10,134 and construction at 7,328. The county’s own economic
development office lists hospitals, the public school district, the sheriff’s office and food
distributor Cheney Brothers among its largest employers. Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port
Charlotte and a Bayfront Health campus in Punta Gorda anchor the health care sector. Florida
SouthWestern State College and Southern Technical College both run campuses in the county, and
Punta Gorda Airport has grown into a hub for low-cost commercial air service alongside its
general-aviation and industrial-park traffic. Fishermen’s Village, a converted fish-packing
complex on Punta Gorda’s waterfront, anchors the county’s tourism and retiree-focused retail
trade. The county’s biggest annual event is the Charlotte County Fair, held each January at the
Charlotte County Fairgrounds in Port Charlotte.

History

Florida’s legislature created Charlotte County on 23 April 1921, carving it out of what had
been DeSoto County land. The county takes its name from Charlotte Harbor, itself derived from the
Spanish “Carlos” or “Carlota,” linked to the Calusa leader who once ruled the
area; English-speaking settlers had anglicized it to “Charlotte Harbor” by 1775, in an
apparent tribute to Britain’s Queen Charlotte. Punta Gorda, incorporated in 1887, predates the
county itself and became its seat on formation.

Hurricane Charley made landfall near the mouth of Charlotte Harbor on 13 August 2004 as a
Category 4 storm, devastating Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte and reshaping building codes across
the county. Hurricane Ian made a second landfall near Punta Gorda on 28 September 2022, again as
a major hurricane, causing widespread damage along the harbor shoreline. Both storms drove a wave
of hurricane-hardened rebuilding that is now visible across the county’s newer construction.

Getting There

Interstate 75 crosses the county’s eastern side through Port Charlotte and North Port’s
outskirts. US Route 17 and US Route 41 run through the county on a roughly north-south line,
along with State Roads 31 and 776.

• Fort Myers — about 25 miles south
• Sarasota — about 30 miles north
• North Port — about 15 miles north
• Cape Coral — about 20 miles south

Punta Gorda Airport, on the city’s north side, offers scheduled commercial flights on
low-cost carriers in addition to general aviation. Southwest Florida International Airport in
Fort Myers, about 25 miles south, is the nearest larger commercial hub. Charlotte County has no
Amtrak station of its own; the nearest regular passenger-rail connections run through Tampa via
Thruway motorcoach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Charlotte County located?
It sits on Florida’s southwestern Gulf coast, about 25 miles north of Fort Myers, bordered by
Sarasota, DeSoto, Highlands, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.

What is the population of Charlotte County?
186,847 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 217,212 by 2025.

How big is Charlotte County?
680 square miles (1,761 km2) of land, plus about 178 square miles of water — roughly a
fifth of the county’s total area.

What is the county seat of Charlotte County?
Punta Gorda, incorporated in 1887, is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated
city.

How many towns and communities are in Charlotte County?
One incorporated city, Punta Gorda, plus nine census-designated places — Port Charlotte,
Englewood (part), Rotonda West, Charlotte Harbor, Harbour Heights, Charlotte Park, Grove City,
Manasota Key and Solana — and nine other named unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Charlotte County use?
33950, 33955 and 33980 for Punta Gorda; 33948, 33952, 33953 and 33954 for Port Charlotte; 33983
for Deep Creek; 33947 for Rotonda West; 34223 and 34224 for the Englewood-Manasota Key-Grove City
area; and 33946 for Placida and Cape Haze.

What is Charlotte County known for?
Charlotte Harbor itself, one of Florida’s largest natural estuaries, and the landfalls of
Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Hurricane Ian in 2022, both near Punta Gorda.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Florida.