Deerfield Beach, Florida


Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles north of Miami, it is a principal city in the Miami metropolitan area in South Florida, which was home to 6.14 million people in 2020. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the tenth-largest city in Broward County and the 13th-largest city in the Miami metropolitan area. The city is bound by the Hillsboro River and Boca Raton to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Coconut Creek to the west and Pompano Beach to the south.
The city's contemporary history dates back to the late 19th century with the construction of the Florida East Coast Railway in 1896, built by Henry Flagler. The city's first post office was established in 1898, and on June 11, 1925, the city was incorporated as the Town of Deerfield. The city grew very rapidly in the mid-20th century, particularly between 1950 and 1980, as new neighborhoods were built. The city has continued to grow since, and as of 2024 has an estimated population of 90,507.
The city is known for its beaches and pier on Deerfield Beach Island, as well as its parks, particularly the botanical gardens of the Deerfield Beach Arboretum and Quiet Waters Park.

History

Deerfield Beach's history dates to 1890, when a small settlement named Hillsborough was developed along the Hillsboro River. As the population grew to 20 by 1898, the settlement was now served by its own post office and the town was named Deerfield for the deer that grazed along the river.
By the early 20th century, as the town's population continued to grow, the Florida East Coast Railroad constructed tracks en route to Miami bisecting Deerfield. Deerfield's early settlers were mostly farmers who grew pineapples, tomatoes, green beans, squash and fished along the Intracoastal Waterway. Deerfield remained a largely agricultural community, but in 1939 the town's name was changed to Deerfield Beach to let tourists know it has a beach. In 1952, the original Deerfield Beach Pier was built of wood.
Many of the city's oldest structures, mostly built in the 1920s, are built in a Spanish Mediterranean Revival style, a traditionally popular architectural style in South Florida.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Of Deerfield Beach's land mass 0.3 square miles is located on Deerfield Beach Island.

Climate

Deerfield Beach has a borderline tropical rainforest climate, bordering on a tropical monsoon climate, featuring hot summer days, frequent thunderstorms in the summer, and less frequent rain in the fall.
During the summer months average temperatures tend to be in the 80s, while during the winter temperatures tend to be in the 60s. July is generally the warmest month of the year with an average maximum temperature of, while the coldest month of the year is February with an average minimum temperature of. The all-time record high is recorded in 1981, while the all-time record low is which was recorded in 1995. The year-round average temperature is.
The annual average precipitation at Deerfield Beach is. Summer months tend to be wetter than winter months. The wettest month of the year is June with an average rainfall of.
Deerfield Beach falls under the USDA 10b Plant Hardiness zone.
Climate data for Deerfield Beach-------------
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily daylight hours10.511.512.012.513.513.513.513.012.511.511.010.512.1
Source: Weather Atlas-------------

Demographics

Historical racial composition20202010200019901980
White 41.7%56.0%71.2%78.9%80.4%
Hispanic or Latino20.2%14.2%8.7%3.9%2.1%
Black or African American 24.4%25.0%15.7%16.2%17.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.9%1.5%1.4%0.8%0.4%
Native American 0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.4%
Some other race 3.3%1.4%0.7%0.1%0.4%
Two or more races 8.3%1.9%2.1%N/AN/A
Population86,85975,01864,58346,32539,193

Nativity20152010200019901980
% population native-born66.0%68.5%77.3%84.9%85.5%
... born in the United States63.9%66.5%75.8%83.8%84.8%
... born in Puerto Rico or Island Areas0.9%1.1%0.9%0.3%0.7%
... born to American parents abroad1.2%0.9%0.7%0.8%0.7%
% population foreign-born34.0%31.5%22.7%15.1%14.5%
... born in Haiti7.9%7.3%2.8%2.1%N/A
... born in Brazil7.1%8.3%4.7%0.3%N/A
... born in Canada2.2%2.2%2.0%1.6%1.6%
... born in Russia0.2%0.1%0.4%1.4%2.4%
... born in Poland0.1%0.6%0.9%1.7%2.8%
... born in other countries16.5%13.0%11.9%8.0%7.7%

, 16.3% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.72.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $34,041, and the median income for a family was $44,853. Males had a median income of $35,154 versus $27,451 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,296. About 9.2% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
, Deerfield Beach also had the highest percentage of Brazilian and Brazilian American population in the United States at 11.06%. It also has a significant percentage of Haitian and Haitian American residents in the United States, at 12.1%.

Arts and culture

Beaches

Deerfield Beach is famous for its beach on the Atlantic Ocean, its boardwalk along Ocean Way and the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier on Deerfield Beach Island.
Deerfield Beach is a popular spot for surfing. The area of the beach north of the pier is more popular with higher skilled and competitive surfers. The southern end of the beach is more popular for beginner and intermediate surfers.
Deerfield Beach is also a protected sea turtle habitat and a popular spot for sea turtle nesting. Lighting on the beach is designed to be more dim and of less intensity to protect the sea turtles. The three main sea turtle species in Deerfield Beach are the loggerhead sea turtle, green sea turtle and the leatherback sea turtle.

Parks and nature preserves

The City of Deerfield Beach operates 54 parks throughout the city of varying size and uses. Two of the best known parks in the city are Pioneer Park in the city's historic center and the Deerfield Beach Arboretum, an arboretum and botanical garden. The Deerfield Beach Arboretum contains more than 200 different species of trees and palms from around the world with more than 50 different species of flowering trees, waterfalls and gardens. Other parks, playgrounds, nature preserves and athletic facilities are scattered throughout the city's neighborhoods.
Quiet Waters Park is the largest park in the city and includes water skiing, bicycling and walking trails. The Florida Renaissance Festival is held annually in Quiet Waters Park.
Deerfield Island Park is a nature preserve and only island park in Broward County. The island park is accessible by a free public ferry from Sullivan Park.
There is one 18-hole golf course in the city, the Deer Creek Golf Club.

Future public park

The city is planning to build a new public park on the site of the former Tam O'Santer Golf course off of Military Trail in Crystal Lake. The new park, called Marty Popelsky Park, will have about 50 acres of green space, making it one of the largest parks in the city. As of November 2025, the city was working on design ideas for the public park which include more trees, walking and bicycle trails, gardens, nature preserves and athletic fields.
File:Butler-house.jpg|thumb|The James D. and Alice Butler House, built in 1923, a historic house museum operated by the Deerfield Beach Historical Society.

Museums and historic sites

Deerfield Beach has numerous historic sites and museums, many operated by the Deerfield Beach Historical Society. Most of the oldest structures in the city date to the 1920s. Two major historic sites operated by the historical society and open to the public are the James D. and Alice Butler House, a historic house museum, built in 1923 in a Spanish Mediterranean style, and the Old Deerfield School, a historic school house built in 1920 in a Spanish Mission and Spanish Mediterranean architectural styles. Additionally, the historical society operates the Deerfield Beach Historical Society Museum & Culture Center, in a Mid-century Modern house, for arts, music and cultural events.
The Deerfield Beach station is a historic, Spanish Mediterranean railway station built in 1926 by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Today, the station serves Amtrak and Tri-Rail. Inside the train station, is the South Florida Railway Museum, a train museum with model trains, train equipment and historic rail artifacts.
The Museum of Discovery and Science is building a new museum, the Deerfield Beach Marine Science Center, with exhibits focused on marine science and South Florida's sub-tropical ecology and ecosystems. The new museum is planned to open in Summer of 2026.

Libraries

There are two locations of the Broward County Library system in Deerfield Beach:
  • Century Plaza
  • Percy White

    Beaches and parks

Economy

Deerfield Beach is the headquarters of JM Family Enterprises, Southeast Toyota Distributors, MAPEI Americas, YouFit and Ashbritt.

Education

There are five public schools in Deerfield Beach, as well as numerous private institutions. Public schools are administered by Broward County Public Schools.

Elementary schools

Deerfield Beach leans left towards the Democratic Party. In the last four U.S. presidential elections, the Democratic candidates have won in Deerfield Beach by a majority.
In the 2024 [United States presidential election in Florida|2024 United States presidential election], Democrat Kamala Harris won Deerfield Beach by a majority. Harris received 17,393 votes or 53.3% of the votes, and Republican Donald Trump received 15,521 votes or 46.7%. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Democrat Joseph Biden won Deerfield Beach by a majority. Biden received 21,776 votes or 60.3% of the votes, and Republican Donald Trump received 14,340 votes or 39.7%. In the 2016 general election, Democrat Hillary Clinton won Deerfield Beach with 62.6% of votes. In the 2012 general election, Democrat Barack Obama won Deerfield Beach with 65.2% of votes.
Deerfield Beach is within U.S. congressional districts 20th district and 23rd district. Both districts are represented by Democrats. The 20th district is represented by Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and the 23rd district is represented by Democrat Jared Moskowitz.
YearDemocraticRepublican
202453.3% 17,39346.7% 15,251
202060.3% 21,77639.7% 14,340
201662.6% 19,27737.4% 11,500
201265.2% 18,86634.8% 10,053

Infrastructure

Transportation

Rail service in Deerfield Beach is served by Amtrak and Tri-Rail at the Deerfield Beach station. Bus service is operated by Broward County Transit. Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is the nearest international airport and Miami International Airport is the primary international airport for flights to Latin America and Europe. Both airports can be accessed via Tri-Rail.

Inter-city rail

Amtrak operates two daily services, the Silver Meteor to New York City and the Floridian to Chicago. The Silver Meteor train runs daily to New York City via Orlando, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. The Floridian train runs daily to Chicago via Tampa, Orlando, Washington, D.C. and other cities north.

Commuter rail

runs frequent commuter rail service to Miami to Miami International Airport and MiamiCentral in Downtown Miami, as well as north to West Palm Beach.

Bus

Deerfield Beach is also served by numerous bus lines of Broward County Transit that connect the city to Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, and other points around Broward County.

Media

Deerfield Beach is a part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood media market, which is the twelfth largest radio market and the seventeenth largest television market in the United States. Its primary daily newspapers are the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Miami Herald, and their Spanish-language counterparts El Sentinel and El Nuevo Herald. Local Deerfield-based media includes The Observer, a local weekly newspaper, New Pelican, a local newspaper, and the Deerfield Times, published by Sun-Sentinel.

Notable people

Deerfield Beach has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International: Acre, Israel.