Courtesy of Wikipedia.

History

The area where the town now sits was originally named for the Hobe Indian tribe which lived at the mouth of the Loxahatchee River, and whose name is also preserved in the name of nearby Hobe Sound.^[4] A mapmaker misunderstood the Spanish spelling ‘Jobe’ of the Indian name ‘Hobe’ and recorded it as ‘Jove’. Subsequent mapmakers further misunderstood this to be the Latin translation of the god Jupiter, and they anglicized the name from Jove to ‘Jupiter.’ The Roman god Jupiter (or Zeus in the Greek mythology) is the chief Roman god, husband of Juno, and god of light, of the sky and weather, and of the state and its welfare and its laws. It inspired a neighboring village to name itself, “Juno Beach”.

The most notable landmark is the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, completed in 1860. Made of brick, it was painted red in 1910 due to discoloration caused by humidity. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 sandblasted the paint from the upper portion of the tower, and the tower was repainted using a potassium silicate mineral coating. The lighthouse is often used as the symbol for Jupiter.^[5]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there are 39,328 people, 16,945 households, and 11,403 families residing in the town. The population density is 759.2/km² (1,966.5/mi²). There are 20,943 housing units at an average density of 404.3/km² (1,047.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 94.86% White (89.4% were Non-Hispanic White),^[7] 1.22% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.37% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. 7.33% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 16,945 households out of which 26.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% are married couples living together, 8.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% are non-families. 25.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.32 and the average family size is 3.15

In the town the population is spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $54,945, and the median income for a family is $64,873. Males have a median income of $44,883 versus $33,514 for females. The per capita income for the town is $35,088. 4.8% of the population and 3.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.7% of those under the age of 18 and 4.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Jupiter is now home to many transplanted Northerners who can afford expensive, luxurious vacation homes. Most “snowbirds” eventually become year-round residents, and are predominantly from the New York City metropolitan area (including Connecticut and New Jersey) and the Boston area in Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]}

Jupiter’s population is served by two public high schools, Jupiter Community High School located in Jupiter, and William T. Dwyer High School, located in Palm Beach Gardens.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 88.47% of all residents, while Spanish was at 7.17%, and Italian made up 1.66% of the population.^[8]

It’s also home to the 102nd highest percentage of Guatemalan residents, which made up 1.09% of the population (tied with Calverton, New York).^[9]