Sanford, North Carolina
Sanford is a city in
Lee County,
North Carolina,
United States. The population was 23,220 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seat of
Lee County.
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Location of Sanford, North Carolina |
Sanford is located at (35.475881, -79.175463).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.5
km² (24.1
mi²). 62.3 km² (24.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.33%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 23,220 people, 8,550 households, and 5,899 families residing in the city. The
population density was 372.5/km² (964.7/mi²). There were 9,223 housing units at an average density of 147.9/km² (383.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.87%
White, 29.19%
African American, 0.50%
Native American, 1.06%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 11.93% from
other races, and 1.41% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 19.03% of the population.
There are 8,550 households, out of which 34.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were
married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 people and the average family size was 3.15 people.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,804, and the median income for a family was $39,447. Males had a median income of $30,527 versus $23,393 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,038. About 14.8% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
Because Sanford sits where white beach sand from the coast meets the Piedmont clay, the city has the right ingredients to be a large producer of clay bricks. Some even call Sanford the brick capital of the world. Sanford also produces textiles and has recently seen the influx of the biotech industry with the
Wyeth Vaccines facility becoming one of the areas largest employers.
Sanford is also home to
Coty, Inc., a cosmetics and perfume manufacturer whose brands inclue
J-Lo,
Celine Dion and
Calgon.
Sanford is home to two
high schools. Lee County High School and Southern Lee High School. Southern Lee High School opened its doors in the 2005-2006 school year with Hans Lassiter as Principal. There are also two middle schools East Lee Middle School and West Lee Middle School. There are various Elementary Schools including the year-round school Tramway Elementary School.
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Lita,
WWE superstar
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J.D. McDuffie,
NASCAR driver
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Official website of Sanford, NC*
Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce*
Downtown Sanford Incorporated*
Historic Sanford Discussion Group
