Cortez is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Florida. With a population of 4,121 people and two associated neighborhoods, Cortez is the 304th largest community in Florida. Housing costs in Cortez are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Florida.Unlike some towns, Cortez isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Cortez are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Cortez is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Cortez who work in sales jobs (14.81%), food service (11.53%), and management occupations (10.19%). Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.10% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Another notable thing is that Cortez is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town. The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Cortez has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Cortez a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here. One of the nice things about Cortez is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. As is often the case in a small town, Cortez doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.The education level of Cortez ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Cortez, 44.78% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. The per capita income in Cortez in 2022 was $55,014, which is wealthy relative to Florida and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $220,056 for a family of four. However, Cortez contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Cortez home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Cortez residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Cortez include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Cortez is English. Other important languages spoken here include French Creole and Spanish.
