Valparaiso ( ) is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,752, down from 5,036 at the 2010 census.
History
thumb|left|Aerial view, 1935
Valparaiso was named after Valparaiso, Indiana (which in turn, was named after Valparaiso, Chile) and is a twin city also with its neighboring city, Niceville. The name of the city is Spanish, and translates to "paradise vale" or "paradise valley".
Chicago businessman James E. Plew, who relocated to the Florida Panhandle of Northwest Florida in 1922, became "one of Northwest Florida's pioneer developers," and settled on Valparaiso "as the most likely spot for development.
In 1924, he founded the Bank of Valparaiso, constructed the Valparaiso Inn, organized the Chicago Country Club which constructed the Valparaiso Country Club golf course, and was instrumental in many other development activities in the community."
In 1934, Plew offered the U.S. government contiguous land for a bombing and gunnery base. This leasehold became the headquarters for the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base activated on June 14, 1935, under the command of Captain Arnold H. Rich. This was the founding of Eglin Air Force Base. The field was assigned the ICAO airport code VPS for Valparaiso, which Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport retains to this day. In Niceville, there is an elementary school named in his honor.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (6.35%) is water.
Climate
The climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. Temperatures are high and can lead to warm, humid nights. Summers are usually somewhat wetter than winters, with much of the rainfall coming from convectional thunderstorm activity. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is a humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa).
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable"
|+Valparaiso racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|4,069
|3,493
|80.80%
|73.51%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|278
|220
|5.52%
|4.63%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|30
|13
|0.60%
|0.27%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|173
|161
|3.44%
|3.39%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|8
|15
|0.16%
|0.32%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|4
|25
|0.08%
|0.53%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|195
|422
|3.87%
|8.88%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|279
|403
|5.54%
|8.48%
|-
|Total
|5,036
|4,752
|
|
|-
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Valparaiso had a population of 4,752. The median age was 35.4 years. 18.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 119.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 122.2 males age 18 and over.
99.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,817 households in Valparaiso, of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.6% were married-couple households, 23.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 5,036 people, 1,700 households, and 899 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the census
Infrastructure
Transportation
Commercial aircraft fly into nearby Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, which also serves the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach. Located within Eglin Air Force Base, the airport code VPS is taken from the city of Valparaiso, which is adjacent to the base.