Profile for Fort Myers, Florida, FL

Fort Myers is on the Caloosahatchee River.

Federal troops built a fort here after an attack by the Seminole in 1839.

Thomas Edison planted palm trees along McGregor Boulevard in the early 1900s. Other residents followed and now the street is lined with palms.

Downtown Fort Myers declined in the 1970s, but restoration efforts have sparked commercial redevelopment in recent years.

Public transportation: LeeTran (See the transit and travel sections below.)

Crime: The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 965. The number of murders and homicides was 12. The violent crime rate was 19 per 1,000 people.

Rated No. 5 on Healthy Cities list, by Organic Style magazine, September/October 2003

Well-known residents have included:
· Thomas Edison, inventor
· Deion Sanders, football and baseball player
· Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor

Coffee: National and regional coffee companies with outlets here include Starbucks

Local festivals include:

• Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair - Feb. 23- March 4, 2007

Performing arts: Southwest Florida Symphony

Nearby parks & recreation: Fort Myers Beach, Lee County Nature Center and Planetarium

Fort Myers attractions: Shell Factory

Sports teams: Miracle (minor league baseball), GCL Red Sox (minor league baseball), GCL Twins (minor league baseball), Florida Stingrays (American Indoor Football Association)

Historic sites and museums: Fort Myers Historical Museum, Edison/Ford Winter Estates, Burroughs Home, Imaginarium Hands-On Museum and Aquarium, Railroad Museum of South Florida

Colleges and universities: Florida Gulf Coast University, Edison Community College

Support for libraries: Local government funding for the local library system, in fiscal years 2001-2002, was above the national average. (See library links below.)

Gays & lesbians
National index: 100
Local index: 125

Listed places near Fort Myers

Archives (1)

Cemeteries (7)

Colleges (2)

Communities (3)

Hotels (28)

Libraries (6)

Museums (2)

Parks (1)

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• Fort Myers population
• Ancestry of people in Fort Myers
• Housing in Fort Myers
• Income in Fort Myers
• Marital status of adults in Fort Myers
• Place of birth of people in Fort Myers
• Residence in 1995, of people in Fort Myers
• School enrollment & education levels in Fort Myers
• Transportation & commute times in Fort Myers
• Lee County data
• Fastest-growing counties in Florida
• State data - Florida
• Data by street address
• Historical census records (Ancestry.com)

Sections below provide additional information and links about Fort Myers demographics, travel and tourism, nearby airports, cemeteries, the Lee County economy, education, environment, genealogy, government, historic sites, Fort Myers-Cape Coral area jobs, libraries, maps, museums, newspapers and other media, nonprofit groups, real estate, recreation, religion, transportation, and weather in the 33901 ZIP code.

(Also see local map below.)

• Fort Myers city government
• Lee County government
• Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
• Lee County Chamber of Commerce

11% of Fort Myers residents report German ancestry, and 8% report Irish. For more info on local ancestry groups, see the Fort Myers ancestry & family history guide.

• Cemeteries in or near Fort Myers
• Cemeteries in Lee County
• Libraries in or near Fort Myers

Post a query on a message board:

• Lee County Ancestry forum
• GenForum

Records & databases:

• Ancestry.com - FL data
• Birth, marriage & death records
• Cemetery records
• County history catalog
• Census records (historic)
• Court, land & probate records
• Death index
• Family & local history
• Immigration records
• Military records (historic)
• Newspaper articles

Music

• Southwest Florida Symphony

• Fort Myers area attractions
• Fort Myers museums
• Fort Myers historic sites
• Fort Myers area parks

• Fort Myers, FL (Images of America)

• Add a local cemetery to our listings
• Fort Myers area cemeteries
• Cemeteries in Lee County
• Cemetery record compendium
• Florida cemetery message boards
• National database of cemetery records
• Veteran grave locator

• Communities near Fort Myers
• Nearby cities of 10,000 or more
• Nearby cities of 50,000 or more
• Communities in Lee County

• Fort Myers business guide
• Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
• Lee County Chamber of Commerce
• Better Business Bureau
• Business licenses
• Corporate records search

• Courts in Florida
• Local ordinances in Florida (Partial selection)

• Crime in Lee County
• Arrests in Lee County

• Obituaries - search nearby newspapers
• Obituary database - Ancestry.com
• Charitable donations

• Local information on disability access
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Independent living centers in Florida
• National Council on Independent Living

At the time of the 2000 census, the per capita income in Fort Myers was $17,312, compared with $21,587 nationally.

• Banks
• Building permits
• Current labor force
• Wage estimates
• Lee County economic census
• Lee County economic summary
• Lee County employment growth
• Lee County unemployment rate
• Florida economic data

18% of Fort Myers residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.

• Colleges in or near Fort Myers
• Colleges in Florida
• Learning Disabilities Association in Florida
• Schools in or near Fort Myers
• School districts in or near Fort Myers
• Yearbooks (old) of Florida high schools

• Movies playing in or near Fort Myers
• YouTube videos about Fort Myers

• Air pollution in Lee County
• Diesel soot in Lee County
• Land contamination in Lee County
• Nature Conservancy projects in Florida
• Ozone status & air pollution - American Lung Association
• Toxic chemical releases in Lee County
• Water levels & streamflow conditions in Florida

Fort Myers festival dates:

• Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair - Feb. 23- March 4, 2007

Dates often change. Check with local tourism officials to be sure.

Fort Myers festival web sites:

• Festival of Light

• ePodunk festival listings
• Florida county fairs
• Florida festivals (Florida tourism department)
• Send us festival info for Fort Myers

• Confluence of latitude & longitude near Fort Myers
• Geocaches in Florida

• Fort Myers items now on sale

• Fort Myers local government Web site
• Lee County government
• Florida state government
• Driver's licenses
• Motor vehicles
• Passports
• Social Security
• Veterans affairs
• Where to write for birth, death, marriage or divorce records

• Ancestry & family history
• Business
• Demographics
• Health
• Moving
• Nonprofit resources
• Sports & rec
• Travel

• Fort Myers medical services & health statistics

• State historical society

Historic districts in Fort Myers include Fort Myers Downtown Commercial District ... View historic districts

• Historic sites in or near Fort Myers
• Historic sites in Florida
• Museums in or near Fort Myers
• Museums in Florida
• Florida state archives
• National Historic Landmark search
• Search the Library of Congress
• Search the National Register for historic properties
• Post history questions in Lee County genealogy forum

Median rent in Fort Myers, at the time of the 2000 Census, was $508.   Monthly homeowner costs, for people with mortgages, were $796.

• Research Fort Myers Apartments
• Find Foreclosure in Fort Myers
• Homes for sale in Fort Myers
• Find a Fort Myers Realtor
• Get free moving quotes
• Free home valuation
• Check Florida mortgage rates
• Property and neighborhood reports
• Mortgage calculator

• Jobs in the Fort Myers area
• Job services in Florida
• Minimum wage laws by state

Libraries in Fort Myers include Dunbar Jupiter Hammon Library, Lee County Library System, Riverdale Branch Library, Rutenberg Branch Library ... View libraries

• Florida library

• Get directions from Fort Myers
• Get directions to Fort Myers
• Census map of Fort Myers area
• Historic maps of FL cities - Library of Congress
• Historic maps of Florida
• Topographic map of Fort Myers

Newspapers in Fort Myers include Fort Myers News-Press

TV stations in Fort Myers include WBBH, WEVU-CA, WGCU, WINK.

National Public Radio programming is carried locally by WGCU-FM.

• Daily newspapers in or near Fort Myers
• AM radio stations in or near Fort Myers
• Commercial FM radio stations in or near Fort Myers
• Public & educational radio stations in or near Fort Myers
• TV stations in or near Fort Myers
• Media ownership in the Fort Myers area
• Search historic newspaper articles
• Search recent news archives in Florida

• Military bases in Florida
• American Legion post locator
• Veterans of Foreign Wars post locator

• Check daily newspapers in or near Fort Myers
• Search obituaries in Florida
• Recent death notices - selected FL newspapers

• Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
• Community foundations (by state)
• Foundations (by name)
• Kiwanis clubs in Florida
• Lions clubs in Florida
• Nonprofit groups
• Nonprofit guide for Fort Myers
• Rotary club search
• Volunteer opportunities in or near Fort Myers

• Parks near Fort Myers
• National forests in Florida
• State parks in Florida

• Find friends & family
• Photos of people from Fort Myers

• Find a local animal shelter
• Report animal cruelty

• Aerial photo of Fort Myers
• Historic photos of U.S. cities
• Panoramic photos of Florida communities
• Photo collection - Florida communities
• Photos of Florida places
• Post cards of Florida communities

Lee County supported George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. For more information, see our Fort Myers political report.

• Florida Democratic party
• Florida Republican party
• Lee County elections board
• Florida elections board

• ZIP codes (by street address)
• ZIP codes (by city)
• ZIP code reverse lookup (find cities in a ZIP code)

• Churches, other places of worship in or near Fort Myers
• Total membership by faith, in Lee County

• Nearby restaurants taking online reservations
• Chowhound message boards for FL

The average commute time for Fort Myers workers is 23 minutes, compared with 26 minutes nationwide.

A total of 55 fatal motor vehicle accidents occurred in Fort Myers between 2001 and 2003, according to reports gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This is a rate of 11.4 fatal crashes per 10,000 population, which was higher than the national norm.

• Bus schedules

• Fort Myers travel guide
• Airports near Fort Myers
• Amtrak station in Fort Myers
• Hotels near Fort Myers
• Florida tourism bureau

• Monthly averages & records
• Major storms (searchable by county)
• Florida coastal water temperatures
• National weather map

• Audubon centers
• Birding spots in Florida
• Wildlife refuges in Florida

Browse list of Florida community profiles