Okeechobee County, Florida

Okeechobee County is a county in Florida, United States, about 60 miles northwest of West Palm
Beach. It had a population of 39,644 at the 2020 census, an estimated 40,816 by 2024, and covers
892 square miles (2,310 km2) centred near 27°23′N 80°53′W.

Okeechobee is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city; its postal code is 34972. The county holds 1 city, 2 census-designated places and 4 named unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 12093.

Towns & Villages in Okeechobee County

Okeechobee County has 7 named places on record: 1 incorporated city, 2 census-designated
places (CDPs) and 4 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Florida
has no civil townships, so this table skips that column.

Two names on the county’s old settlement list, Basinger and Fort Kissimmee, are actually in
Highlands County — Fort Basinger sits about 10 miles northwest of Okeechobee city but on the
far side of the county line, and Fort Kissimmee is further west along the Kissimmee River. Both
are dropped from this list.

ZIP Codes

• 34972 — Okeechobee (the county’s main post office)
• 34973 — Okeechobee (post office box ZIP)
• 34974 — Okeechobee and Upthegrove Beach, south of the city

Taylor Creek, Cypress Quarters, Barber Quarters, Fort Drum and Osowaw Junction have no ZIP
code of their own; mail there is delivered under one of Okeechobee’s three codes.

Geography

Okeechobee County sits in Florida’s interior lowlands, north of Lake Okeechobee, in flat
prairie and pasture broken by cypress heads and citrus groves. Of the county’s 892 square
miles, 769 are land and 123 are water, about 13.8 percent — the highest share of any
Florida county not on the coast, almost entirely because the county line runs out into Lake
Okeechobee itself. The Kissimmee River flows south through the county’s western half before
emptying into the lake, and the Kissimmee River Canal parallels US 441 along the lake’s
northern shore.

Osceola County lies to the north, Polk and Highlands counties to the west, Indian River County
to the northeast, St. Lucie and Martin counties to the east, and Glades, Hendry and Palm Beach
counties share the lake to the south — all five counties bordering Lake Okeechobee meet at
one point near its center. Osceola
County, Polk County, Highlands County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Glades County, Hendry County and Palm Beach County all border
Okeechobee. Martin County also borders the county across the lake but has no page on this site
yet.

Demographics

Okeechobee County had a population of 39,644 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 40,816 residents in 2024. Okeechobee city and Taylor Creek CDP are the two
largest communities, together holding roughly a quarter of the county’s population. Median
household income runs $57,984 (2024), well below Florida’s statewide figure of $73,311
(2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 52 people per square mile of land, among the
more rural counties on Florida’s Heartland, well below the statewide average.

Economy & Local Life

Retail trade employs the most workers in the county, about 2,090 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 2,061 and construction at 1,923. Cattle ranching remains central to
the local economy — Okeechobee County is regularly counted among Florida’s leading
cattle-producing counties, alongside citrus groves and sod farms in the county’s western
half. Raulerson Hospital, on US 441 in Okeechobee, is the county’s main health care
employer. Lake Okeechobee itself draws bass anglers from across the country, and the county
markets itself as a fishing destination built around the lake’s rim canal. The county’s
biggest annual event is the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, launched in 2016 and drawing an
estimated 30,000 attendees each March to a site outside the city.

History

Florida’s legislature organized Okeechobee County in 1917, carving it from parts of
Osceola, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. It takes its name from Lake Okeechobee, itself from
Seminole words meaning big water. Okeechobee, the county seat, incorporated on 4 June 1915, two
years before the county itself was formed.

In 1855, a Seminole confederation meeting near what is now Taylor Creek helped trigger the
start of the Third Seminole War, after decades of pressure to remove remaining Seminole people
from Florida. The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, a Category 5 storm with winds near 160 mph, drove a
storm surge over the lake’s southern dike on 17 September that year, flooding hundreds of
square miles more than 20 feet deep in places. The disaster killed an estimated 2,500 people
around the lake, most of them migrant farm workers in communities south of the water; Okeechobee
County itself recorded 27 confirmed deaths. The flooding led directly to construction of the
Herbert Hoover Dike, which now rings the lake.

Getting There

No interstate crosses Okeechobee County. Florida’s Turnpike ends at US 441 on the
county’s eastern edge; US 98 and US 441 both run through Okeechobee city, along with State
Roads 70, 78 and 710.

• West Palm Beach — about 60 miles southeast
• Fort Pierce — about 34 miles east
• Sebring — about 41 miles west
• Orlando — about 95 miles north

Okeechobee County Airport, three miles northwest of the city, handles general aviation only.
Palm Beach International Airport, roughly 65 miles southeast, is the nearest major commercial
airport. Amtrak’s Silver Meteor stops at the Sebring station, about 41 miles west, on its
run between Chicago and Miami.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Okeechobee County located?
It sits in Florida’s interior, north of Lake Okeechobee, about 60 miles northwest of West
Palm Beach, bordered by Osceola, Polk, Highlands, Indian River, St. Lucie, Glades, Hendry and
Palm Beach counties.

What is the population of Okeechobee County?
39,644 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 40,816.

How big is Okeechobee County?
892 square miles (2,310 km2), of which 769 square miles are land and 123 square miles are Lake
Okeechobee and other water.

What is the county seat of Okeechobee County?
Okeechobee, incorporated in 1915, is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated
city.

How many towns and villages are in Okeechobee County?
One city — Okeechobee — plus two census-designated places, Taylor Creek and Cypress
Quarters, and four unincorporated communities: Upthegrove Beach, Barber Quarters, Fort Drum and
Osowaw Junction.

What ZIP codes does Okeechobee County use?
34972 and 34973 for Okeechobee city, and 34974 for the south side of the city and Upthegrove
Beach.

What is Okeechobee County known for?
Cattle ranching, bass fishing on Lake Okeechobee, and the 1928 hurricane that killed an estimated
2,500 people around the lake and led to the Herbert Hoover Dike.

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