Coconut Creek, Florida Therapists

An Overview of Mental Health in Coconut Creek, Florida

Coconut Creek is a city in the northern part of Broward County, Florida. It has existed as an independent community since the 1960s after it seceded from Pompano Beach. One of Coconut Creek’s biggest claims to fame is Butterfly World, the largest butterfly aviary in existence. Because of this, Coconut Creek has earned the nickname “Butterfly Capital of the World.”

Residents give Coconut Creek a high livability score, with weather, education, crime, and amenities earning particularly high marks. The population of Coconut Creek is about 58,000, of which approximately one-third identify as either black or Hispanic (13 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively), and over half (59.7 percent) identify as white.

A Slice of Life in Coconut Creek

On the surface, Coconut Creek seems like a healthy and prosperous community. It boasts a significantly high percentage of adult residents with at least a high school diploma, 92.7 percent. Its percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher (33.1 percent) is similar to but higher than, the national rate of 30.9 percent.

Coconut Creek’s poverty rate of 9.1 percent is low compared to the national rate of 12.3 percent. The median household income in Coconut Creek is $55,451, comparable to the national median of $55,322 and higher than the median for both Florida and Broward counties, $48,900 and $52,954, respectively. However, home values in Coconut Creek are lower than statewide in Florida, $182,598 compared with $197,700.

Broward County as a whole sees a moderately high number of violent crimes (440.9) per 100,000 residents. Crime rates in Coconut Creek, including both violent and nonviolent crimes, are fairly low relative to comparable cities. Not only that, but the last five or six years have seen a fairly steady decrease in Coconut Creek’s crime rate.

Mental Health Statistics in Coconut Creek

From the outside, Coconut Creek may seem like an idyllic place to live, but it has its challenges just like any other city, and that includes mental health challenges. Approximately 10 percent of Broward County residents reported poor mental health according to one study, and 19.8 percent reported rarely, if ever, receiving the emotional and social support they need. Another study showed that Broward County residents reported 3.9 poor mental health days out of every month.

Factors Affecting Mental Health in Coconut Creek

Drug and alcohol abuse is a significant factor affecting mental health in Broward County, including Coconut Creek. Excessive drinking prevalence is moderately high in Broward County at 17.2 percent, and while neither city- nor county-level data is available, Florida has a high rate of drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people: 23.7 in 2016, of which 14.4 were specifically due to opioids.

There is often a relationship between physical and mental health, and there is a high rate of sexually transmitted diseases diagnosed in Broward County. In 2014, per 100,000 residents, there were 491.9 diagnoses of chlamydia alone, and in 2013 the diagnosis rate of HIV was even higher, at 1,092 new cases per 100,000 people.

Vulnerable Populations in Coconut Creek

Members of certain communities may be more at risk of developing mental health issues than others.

• Veterans: There are 3,103 veterans living in Coconut Creek, approximately 30 percent of whom served in the Gulf Wars of the 1990s and 2000s. Military personnel who saw combat are at greater risk for mental health issues like PTSD and substance abuse.
• Low-Income Individuals: Though the poverty rate in Coconut Creek is low, 24.6 percent of people in Broward County with a yearly income of less than $25,000 per year reported poor mental health, approximately twice the percentage for the state of Florida as a whole (12.6 percent).
• Hispanics: Potentially, members of any non-white race/ethnicity are at greater risk for mental health issues, but among the Broward County Hispanic population specifically, 17.3 percent report poor mental health, and 25.1 percent report heavy drinking or bingeing.