Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census.

Despite many thinking it was named for flora grown at plant nurseries (especially vegetables and fruits, as well as tropical houseplants) in its subtropical Gulf Coast climate, it was named after prominent railroad developer Henry B. Plant (see Plant System).

Plant City is known as the winter strawberry capital of the world The region as a whole is noted for its sandy, infertile, and poorly drained soils. In and around the city, high organic matter content and scattered phosphate nodules make much of the soil more fertile than typical for the flatwoods.

Climate

Plant City, as does most of Florida, has a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), with humid and hot summers and warm, drier winters. It is close to having a tropical climate zone, since only one month (January) does not have a mean temperature over .

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Plant City city, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|19,250

|18,555

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18,735

|64.35%

|53.44%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |47.12%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|4,751

|5,051

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,388

|15.88%

|14.55%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.55%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|75

|128

|style='background: #ffffe6; |75

|0.25%

|0.37%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|262

|487

|style='background: #ffffe6; |641

|0.88%

|1.40%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.61%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|13

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |21

|0.04%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|47

|38

|style='background: #ffffe6; |144

|0.16%

|0.11%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.36%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|306

|467

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,283

|1.02%

|1.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.23%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|5,211

|9,984

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,477

|17.42%

|28.75%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |33.89%

|-

|Total

|29,915

|34,721

|style='background: #ffffe6; |39,764

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Plant City had a population of 39,764. The median age was 34.8 years. 26.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.

99.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 13,806 households in Plant City, of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.1% were married-couple households, 16.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 14,627 housing units, of which 5.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.

2000 census

As of the census

Bruton Memorial Library offers programs for children, young adults, and adults. Bruton Memorial Library also offers free access to multiple databases, tutoring websites, ebooks, emagazines, and movie streaming. Computers are available for use, as are laptops that can be used only within the library. A variety of activities and services are available to a variety of patrons, from book clubs to extensive workshops regarding the beginnings and upkeep of the cultivation of homes and gardens, as well as crafts available on Mondays and hobbyists convening for fabric arts like knitting or crocheting two Fridays a month. Crafts also extend to children and teens as well.

Economy

Wish Farms, the largest strawberry producer in Florida, has a large presence in Plant City.

Transportation

Aviation

Plant City Airport is a public-use airport located southwest of the central business district.

Bus

A Greyhound bus serves the city twice a day, with one bus going to Tampa and one going to Lakeland, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami.

Railroad

Plant City Union Depot served both the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) and Seaboard Air Line Railroad even after their merger into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad until passenger service ceased operations in 1971. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. The east-west ACL tracks cross the north-south Seaboard tracks at a 90-degree angle at the southeast corner of the station, forming a diamond junction. Both tracks are now owned and run by Class 1 railroad CSX. Amtrak's Floridian & Silver Meteor trains uses the line's west-to-eastbound ACL tracks, although it does not stop at the station. A train observation deck is present where railfans can watch CSX freight trains and the Amtrak Floridian & Silver Meteor train pass, as well as an 24/7 online webcam operated by YouTube channel Virtual Railfan.

Parks, culture, recreation and attractions

National Register of Historic Places

There are several locations in Plant City which have been included in the National Register of Historic Places. They are:

  • Bing Rooming House
  • Downtown Plant City Commercial District
  • Downtown Plant City Historic Residential District
  • Glover School
  • Hillsboro State Bank Building
  • Historic Turkey Creek High School
  • North Plant City Residential District
  • Plant City High School
  • Plant City Union Depot
  • Standard Oil Service Station

Attractions

  • Dinosaur World

Parks

  • Alafia River State Park is located nearby.
  • Alderman's Ford Regional Park
  • Edward Medard Park and Reservoir, a 1,284 acre preserve with 3.25 mile bridle path, fishing, and trails.

Notable people

  • Johni Broome, college basketball player
  • Quintilla Geer Bruton, library advocate and philanthropist
  • John Keasler, columnist who wrote 7,000 columns over 30 years for The Miami News
  • Parker Messick, professional baseball player
  • Ashley Moody, attorney general and U.S. senator for Florida
  • Clay Roberts, professional soccer player and coach
  • Jeff Scofield, racing driver
  • Tyler Scofield, racing driver
  • Samuel Lee Smithers, serial killer known as the “Deacon of Death”
  • Mel Tillis, country singer and songwriter
  • Pam Tillis, country singer

Sister cities

Plant City has formalized sister city agreements with the following city:

  • – Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Notes

References

  • Plant City official website