Fish Hawk (or FishHawk) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Tampa, and includes a portion of the community of Lithia. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 24,625. The place name is derived from Little Fishhawk Creek, a tributary of the Alafia River that joins the Alafia just west of Lithia Springs.
Geography
FishHawk is located in east-central Hillsborough County, bordered to the north by the Alafia River, which separates it from Valrico to the north and Bloomingdale to the northwest. Boyette road borders Fish Hawk from the south and Riverview to the southwest. FishHawk is southeast of downtown Tampa. The older community of Lithia is in the eastern part of the CDP.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , with of land and , or 1.03%, of water. FishHawk Ranch contains several public common areas including the Park Square Town Center, the Lake House, the Palmetto Club clubhouse, the Osprey Club, the Aquatic Center, biking/walking trails, community swimming pools, gym facilities, tennis courts, lakes, and ponds. FishHawk Ranch was the first certified green new-home community in Hillsborough County. The community is part of a Community Development District and residents pay a CDD fee for their respective CDD designation or subdivision.
The FishHawk area is also noted for its high-ranking, A-rated schools.
History
FishHawk Trails and FishHawk Ranch formerly operated as a ranch; these two subdivisions were built by two different companies in the 1990s.
Before these subdivisions were constructed, FishHawk Trails was a wooded location through which a CSX Transportation rail track path passed. The rail tracks were removed in the late 1980s. There was once a train station in the FishHawk area that was the main import/export area of supplies, mail, and food for Lithia residents.
Environmental impact
Starling at FishHawk and The Preserve were previously an undeveloped wildlife habitat. The Florida Green Building Coalition has named FishHawk as a "green" community, the first in Hillsborough County and the largest in the Tampa area. In 2003, the National Arbor Day Foundation honored the FishHawk community preservation efforts.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Fish Hawk had a population of 24,625 and 7,745 housing units; the population density was 1,518.7 inhabitants per square mile. Housing units were 4.1% vacant, including a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.4% and a rental vacancy rate of 4.2%.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 17,600 || 71.5%
|-
| Black or African American || 1,142 || 4.6%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 52 || 0.2%
|-
| Asian || 1,562 || 6.3%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 12 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 819 || 3.3%
|-
| Two or more races || 3,438 || 14.0%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 3,872 || 15.7%
|}
2010 census
The area was transformed by development throughout the following decade, with the population growing over 700%, from under 2,000 to 14,087 in the 2010 US census, while the median household income also increased dramatically from $65,857 to $107,250. To accommodate the rapid growth, the Hillsborough County School District opened several new schools in the area, including Newsome High School in 2003.
2000 census
At the time of the 2000 US Census,
Income
The median household income was $119,946, with families having $127,659, married couples having $142,572, and non-families having $65,000. A total of 8.7% of the population were in poverty, with 9.9% of people under 18, 8.7% of people between the ages of 18 and 64, and 3.1% of people 65 or older were in poverty. The per capita income was $44,431.