Tavares, Florida

Groveland Four

In 1949, the Groveland Four were wrongly accused of raping a white woman in 1949.^[8] One was killed after fleeing, and three were convicted at trial in Tavares. The two adults were sentenced to death and the minor to life in prison. The Supreme Court of the United States overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial for the two capital defendants. One was killed while being transported to Tavares in 1951. Walter Irvin survived the shooting by the sheriff and was convicted again at trial.^[9] In 1955, his death sentence was commuted to life. He was paroled in 1968 and died in 1970. In 2016, the city of Groveland and Lake County formally apologized to families of all the men for injustice; in 2017, the Florida Legislature issued a formal apology and exonerated the men, calling on the governor to officially pardon them.^[10]

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Tavares had a population of 19,003. The median age was 51.5 years. 16.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 34.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males age 18 and over.^[15][16]

There were 8,120 households in Tavares, including 4,337 families. Of all households, 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. 45.3% were married-couple households, 16.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[15][17]

99.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.9% lived in rural areas.^[18]

There were 9,445 housing units, of which 14.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%.^[15]

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, 13,951 people, 6,070 households, and 3,749 families were living in the city.^[19]

2000 census

As of the census^[3] of 2000, 9,700 people, 4,471 households, and 2,821 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,368.3 inhabitants per square mile (528.3/km²). The 5,475 housing units had an average density of 772.3 per square mile (298.2/km²). The city's racial makeup was 88.98% White, 7.70% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.46% of the population.

In 2000, of the 4,471 households, 16.1% had children under 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were nor families. About 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.01, and the average family size was 2.48.

In the city, the age distribution was 14.1% under 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 38.0% were 65 or over. The median age was 56. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income was $31,337 for a household and $36,243 for a family. Males had a median income of $28,911 versus $20,271 for females. The per capita income was $19,942. About 6.6% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under 18 and 6.9% of those 65 or older.