History
Merritt Island's recent history dates back into the mid-1800s and centers on the growth of citrus, stressing the cultivation of pineapples and oranges. The famous Indian River oranges and grapefruits come from this sandy area. The Island became a huge draw in the 1950s and '60s as the Space Race began and NASA expanded. Construction of a barge canal to the Intracoastal Waterway from the Atlantic Ocean (for power plant oil shipments) cut off the northern half of the island for many years and to this day it remains slightly less developed with few areas remaining cattle pasture or citrus land. Now though a 4-lane highway connects to the Space Center, moving workers rapidly from the more densely populated central and southern sections of the Island. The small towns of Merritt Island vanished with the coming of the Space Age, towns like Georgiana, Courtenay, Tropic, Fairyland, Orsino, Angel City, Wilson, Lotus, Shiloh, and Indianola now only live on in the names of streets and historic churches. The Island now belongs to no official city, however the central part of Merritt Island is home to the majority of the population and includes the local high school, library, and shopping district.

With the lack of a municipal government Merritt Island is left to the administrative care of the local county government and the water and sewer (where available) are handled by neighboring Cocoa, Florida. As a result, there are no city taxes and therefore few neighborhood parks. The county maintains sheriff, fire, and EMS coverage.

With Merritt Island's central location within Brevard County, between Titusville and Melbourne, the region is a commercial economic hub with the crowded beaches to the east and the older mainland cities of Rockledge and Cocoa to the west.

The origin of Merritt Island's name is a matter of some debate. Most agree it's either named for a Spanish surveyor, Captain Pedro Marratt, or for a Revolutionary war hero, a Frenchman by the name of Murat.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,090 people, 14,955 households, and 10,049 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,044.6 people per square mile (789.5/km²). There were 15,813 housing units at an average density of 895.9/sq mi (345.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.22% White, 5.31% African American, 0.41% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.83% of the population.

Of the 14,955 households, 27.1% had children under the age of 18, 52.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband, and 32.8% were non-families. 26.8% of households were solely individuals and 11.4% had a lone resident of 65 or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% of 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

Economy
Industry
The Brevard economy has been driven by Trade, Transportation and Utilities (18%), Professional and Business Services (17%), Total government (15%), Education and Health (14%), Manufacturing (12%), Leisure and hospitality (10%), Construction (6%), Financial (4%).

In 2005, Inc. Magazine voted the Space Coast as the best place to do business in Florida and sixth in the country.

In 2004, Brevard County ranked 13th out of 318 largest counties in the US for increase in the number of jobs.

Port Canaveral is the world's busiest cruise port. It is served by seven cruise lines. They have six major cruise terminals. There is 750,000 SF of covered freight storage capacity. It handled 4 million tons of cargo in 2004. The port boosts Brevard's economy by $500 million annually.

The county ranked 17th for per capita income, out of Florida's 67 counties.

American City Business Journals rated Brevard 7th for quality of life out of 67.

For 2004, Brevard County moved from 70 to 31 out of the top 200 metropolitan areas "Best Performing." This improvement was driven mainly by job growth.

Two hospitals were among the top five private employers in the county.

A long term concern has been the probable re-assignment of thousands of space coast workers when the shuttle is discontinued in 2010.

Two locally headquartered builders, Mercedes and Holiday were among the top 30 in the nation. Mercedes had $1 billion in sales in 2004.

The Cocoa Redevelopment Center has worked on programs to improve housing in the city's older areas.

Inc. magazine selected two local small companies as among the fastest growing in the country over the past 3 years - Applied Global Technology (nearly 100% annually) and Stops (nearly 200% annually).

Military
Military installations in Brevard County include Patrick Air Force Base, near Satellite Beach, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center, and the U.S. Air Force Malabar Test Facility on Minton Road in suburban Palm Bay.

The Navy maintains a Trident turning basin at Port Canaveral for Ballistic Missile Submarines. The Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) tests weapons on these subs which arrive at the rate of one a month. The 2005 Base closures included realigning NOTU out of state. However, the community was successful in getting this decision revoked. Much credit goes to the Space Coast Defense Alliance, a branch of the Economic Development Council.

CCAFS houses the Air Force Space & Missile Museum that is in the launch control bunker of Launch Pad 26 where many unmanned rockets were launched early in the U.S. space program including the Explorer, one of the first space craft placed in earth orbit.

The Cape Canaveral Navy League council supports the Sea Services by adopting ships and units of the Navy and Coast Guard. It also provides a means for civilians to socialize with the officers and crew of allied Navies when they visit port.

Northrup Grumman develops the military JSTARS electronics surveillance system used in all major US conflicts since 1990.

The USS Brevard (AK-164) was a World War II Alamosa-class naval cargo ship that was decommissioned shortly after the war.

Agriculture
23% of Brevard County is agricultural-usable for citrus, raising cattle or horses. Cattle ranches include the Deseret and Duda Ranches; citrus growers include Victory Groves and Harvey's Indian River Groves.

The county ranked 21 out of 24 Florida counties in the shipment of gift fruit.

The volunteer 4H clubs focus on youth development, sometimes using animals as a focus. There are 40 4-H related clubs in the county including livestock- and pet-related and after school clubs.

Tourism
Tourism brings $1 billion annually to Brevard.

Brevard competes with other Florida areas for tourists and a number of organizations help promote the area.

The Tourism Development Office consists of indirectly elected officials. It is funded by a small tax on tourist accommodations. The money is spent on beach improvements, visitor information centers, promotion and advertising, the Brevard Zoo, additional beach improvements and the Space Coast Stadium.

Another organization, Main Street Cocoa, works toward restoring business sites in the historic area, known as "Cocoa Village." The restored area has become a tourist attraction and an economic magnet.

The mission of Keep Brevard Beautiful (KBB) is to motivate and educate business, school, group and individual partnerships to reduce litter, recycle, landscape, and beautify for the environmental and economic benefit of Brevard County. Among other tasks, KBB schedules and oversees volunteer cleanups four times a year along roads, parks and beaches.

Brevard has five judged art festivals annually attracting tens of thousands of people to art displays. Most festivals are held in the spring or fall when many tourists can attend.

Due to extensive publicity and hard work by tourism agencies, Brevard experienced the best October and November 2004 than ever, despite widespread hurricane damage and loss of five beachside hotels. Four of these hotels were restored by 2006.

For Brevard County businesses, fishing tournaments, such as the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series tournament in August, bring more than $2.5 million a year in direct spending and much more in indirect spending. Tournaments provide a steady revenue source for the county and local businesses.

The Globe Sebastian Inlet Pro surfing contest, on the county line, draws 16,000 visitors the second weekend in January.

There is an ice skating rink in Rockledge which serves the whole county for hockey and figure skating events.

Labor
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the largest employer in the county with 15,000 contractors and civil servants. While there is concern about the new generation of space vehicles requiring 1/3 fewer workers, about that number are eligible for retirement by 2011.

Unions represented at KSC include American Federation of Government Workers, International Association of Machinists and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Brevard County Teachers are represented by the Brevard Federation of Teachers (AFT).

In 2005, the Next Generation Consulting for Leadership Brevard, a leadership development organization for local business and civic groups, and Brevard Tomorrow commissioned a survey of people 21-44. Basically, these people often found the area "boring," mainly because it is family-friendly at the expense of being singles-friendly. While this may have labor repercussions later, currently business is having no problems hiring.

The county had an unemployment rate of 3.5% in August 2005, near a record low.

In early 2005, Forbes ranked the area 27th in job growth out of 150 metropolitan areas in the country. The county ranked 18th in the nation for mid-sized areas in 2006.

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said the hiring outlook in Brevard for the last quarter of 2005 was the 19th-best in the nation among the 470 communities participating in the survey.

2004 Hurricane recovery has helped the area achieve high employment.

Banking
The Space Coast Credit Union is the largest locally-based financial institution in Brevard and the largest credit union in the state with assets of $1.44 billion.

Attractions
The King Center, seating 2000, features locally produced and former Broadway shows, ballet, and symphony. Several different performances are scheduled each week.

The Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Space Coast Ballet offer shows performed by professionals. Both have encountered obstacles to production: fundraising, recruiting skilled professionals and rehearsing them. For the Ballet, integrating a large number of qualified amateurs into their company for performances.

The Brevard Zoo is a 56 acre facility.

Ballet
The Space Coast Ballet incorporates professional principal dancers and instructors together with many roles for local senior talent as well as roles for students. They annually stage the "Nutcracker."

Classical Music
The Brevard Symphony Orchestra has been bringing the classics, performed by professionals, to the Space Coast for over fifty years.

The Brevard Symphony Youth Orchestra provides an opportunity for musically qualified students to be coached by professionals from the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and perform with other qualified novices.

Museums
The Space Coast has a number of museums from the rocket exhibitions at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, and the Air Force Space & Missile Museum, to local museums and others of unique character such as the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum, and the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame Museum.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers an educational look at the accomplishments of America's space program. A visitor can have a close look at the launch pads, first built for NASA's Apollo missions and presently used by the Space Shuttle fleet. The Observation Gantry near Launch Complex 39 offers a view of the Space Shuttle launch pads, the Vehicle Assembly Building, and the crawler-way over which the rockets are taken to the pad. The Saturn V Complex displays the largest vehicle ever flown.

The Astronaut Hall of Fame is the only facility in the nation dedicated to telling the stories of American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of astronauts' personal effects.

The U.S. Spacewalk Walk of Fame commemorates Kennedy Space Center's history with a museum, monuments and programs.

The Brevard Museum of History & Natural Science features the remains of the "Windover Man", the oldest human remains found on the North American continent and a re-creation of the Windover Dig, a 'wet' archaeological site. A visitor may see how Native Americans lived and Florida pioneers survived.

Honor America runs the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum. This houses a replica of the Liberty Bell, historical documents, and patriotic memorabilia. Items are permanent reminders of our nation's history, as well as a memorial to military veterans.

Education
The Space Coast contains a higher percentage of college graduates than any of the other 66 Florida counties.

Undergraduate and Graduate
College education in Brevard County is provided by the Brevard Community College and Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

The Brevard Community College (BCC) is a two-year college, which has multiple campuses. 13,600 students attend BCC with sites in Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville and Cocoa. A modern planetarium and observatory is located on the Cocoa campus.

The Palm Bay branch of BCC offers technical and vocational training for Associate Degrees and Certificates for entering the workforce, improving professional skills, and developing new competence.

Other courses include a two year nursing degree and certification by the "Police Academy" which is a basic requirement for employment in law enforcement in Brevard County.

Florida Tech (Florida Institute of Technology) is a university which offers Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees, specializing in the sciences. 4,400 students are enrolled on site, of which half are at the graduate level. About 26% are from abroad. It is located in Melbourne.

The University of Central Florida has a branch on the Community College Cocoa Campus. Additionally it operates the Florida Solar Energy Center.

Other colleges include Barry University, Columbia College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Metropolitan University-Melbourne, Keiser College and Webster College.

Elementary and Secondary
For 2005, the students had higher SAT scores than any other Florida School District.

The superintendent of schools was selected as best in state by his peers in 2005.

For 2005, the District has a higher percentage (9%) of National Board Certified Teachers than any of the other largest ten districts in the state.

In 2005, Brevard is first in Florida in the number of "A"-rated schools in the 10 largest districts.

AARP ranked the school district No. 8 on the 2005 list of Best Employers for Workers Over 50. It was the only public-school system and the highest-ranked Florida employer on the national list.

In 2005, Brevard led the state in science in fifth and 11th grade assessments.

In 2006, Brevard students took almost a third of all prizes at the state science fair, including the most first-place awards. This occurred in 2007, as well.

A team consisting of Brevard high school students stood second in the world in the robotics world championship in 2007.

In 2006, the District had 5 of the top 10 Elementary Schools in the state, according to the Florida Dept. of Ed.

Brevard is in the top ten in the state in each of the 22 areas of assessment on the standard statewide exams given students each year.

In 2005 & 2006, Newsweek ranked Cocoa Beach High School among the top 100 US high schools (out of 21,000) in part due to its International Baccalaureate program.

10th graders led the state in the writing exam in 2006.

The state has ranked 15 of the elementary schools as tops in the state including a Title I South Lake, a former "D"-ranked school!

Brevard leads the state in the number of high school students dual enrolled in secondary and college courses.

Continuing Education
Continuing education is provided by the Brevard Community College, and the University of Central Florida.

Life long learning is offered by the Community College at four branches throughout the county as well as evening courses at high schools.

The County School Board sponsors BPS-TV. Those interested can study for the General Education Development exam, learn a foreign language, or learn about the arts. From midnight to 6 a.m., the station's Classic Arts Showcase offers ballet, jazz and classical music programming.

Transportation
Regular, scheduled, commercial airline service is provided from Brevard County by the Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne. The airport serves about half a million people annually. It is served by Delta Airlines and several regional airlines. No tax money is used to fund operations. The airport owns, develops and rents lands adjacent to the airport, many for non-aviation related purposes.

Space Coast Area Transit is a government-subsized bus system serving the County area. Besides providing routine transportation, low cost service is available to disabled and disadvantaged citizens.

Barges can be an inexpensive form of transporting goods in Brevard. Important to NASA, since the barge canals connect the Michaud Works in Louisiana which works on the Shuttle's External Fuel Tanks and then transports them to the Space Center. Barges are usable the length of Brevard in the inland waterway. Among other uses, barges are employed for very heavy lifting where road transport would be impossible because of the total weight involved.