Cooper City, Florida

Cooper City is a small bedroom community in Broward County, Florida. Located 15 miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale and a little more than eight miles from Hollywood, the city boasts of a family-friendly suburb with convenient access to the urban centers of Miami and other areas of southeast Florida.

With an area of 6.7 sq. miles and a population of around 30,000, Cooper City has a population density of 4,637.2 persons per square mile as of 2004. In 2000, there were 9,229 housing units in the city, all of which are located in the urbanized areas or urban clusters and more than 90 percent are owned. The city ranks as having the fourth highest median household income in Broward County with US$88,276 and the average household size is 3.05 people.

Almost half of the residential units in Cooper City are three-bedroom houses; 26 percent of the units have four bedrooms and 16 percent have two bedrooms. One-bedroom houses account for 3.5 percent; units with five bedrooms or more make up 4.3 percent; and studio type units account for less than one percent.

The median value of occupied housing units amounts to $154,200 while the median price for vacant houses is $117,000. Housing units for rent have a median price of $850 per month.

More than 60 percent of owned houses in Cooper City are on simple mortgage while 14 percent are fully paid or debt free. A median of 21.8 percent of the monthly household income goes to home ownership costs.

Cooper City has been declared a Tree City for the past 25 years because of its various tree planting programs. It was also chosen by Family Circle magazine as one of the ten best towns for families. Some of the factors considered in the selection were the low cost of living, crime rate, and travel time as well as above average education system, health care, air quality, green space, and cultural development.

A majority of the local inhabitants, almost 90 percent, are Whites, 4 percent are Asians, 3 percent are African Americans, and the rest of the population are of multi-racial descent. The city also hosts a significant Jewish population.

The city has an adequate number of schools, parks, and recreational centers to cater to the needs of the residents. It has also annexed the 530-acre Waldrep Dairy Farm and has begun construction of residential units. The development of the property is expected to bring in around 4,000 new residents as well as businesses and other financial investments.