Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of 2010, there were 8,425 people, 3,586 households, and 2,507 families residing in the CDP. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 745.6 people per square mile (286.6/km²). There were 4,308 housing units at an average density of 381.2/sq mi (146.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.9% White, 2.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.3% of the population.

There were 3,586 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 25.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. Females made up 52% of the population.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,361, and the median income for a family was $58,533. Males had a median income of $41,725 versus $29,595 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP was $26,631. About 4.3% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

After the advent of Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005, the demographics changed dramatically but have yet to be statistically enumerated.

Name and Hawaiian influence

The town of Diamondhead was named after Diamond Head, Hawaii

Diamond Head, Hawaii

Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...

. This Hawaiian influence is applied throughout Diamondhead. Most of the roads are named with Hawaiian names, the various community centers and private homes have a Hawaiian look, including prominent Kona

Kona District, Hawaii

Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...

/Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

an roof lines. Originally Diamondhead was designed by the developers in the 1970s to appeal to an older demographic looking for a place to retire near from New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi. Over time it has slowly changed from a retirement community

Retirement community

A retirement community, or active adult community, is a very broad, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors - especially designed or geared for people who no longer work, or restricted to those over a certain age . It differs from a retirement home which is a...

 to a variety of age groups. It has begun to resemble a small suburb, and its residents now mostly consist of young families.

Facilities

Since most of Diamondhead was a planned community it has many facilities designed to attract home buyers. Some of these facilities include:

• Marina, Yacht Club, Tennis World, and Country Club with multiple dining facilities
• The Pines and Cardinal 18-Hole Professional Golf Courses (36 Holes)
• Community Pools throughout the area
• Community Center and Separate Adult Learning Center
• Community Grocery and Hardware Stores
• Multiple Ponds and Lakes
• Several Homes have direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Marina and Yacht Club
• Several Restaurants, Bowling, Hotels, Automotive Stations
• Private airstrip including direct access between the airstrip and private homes allowing planes to be housed at a home owners house.

Clubs and activities

• Couples Bridge
• Diamondhead Anglers
• Diamondhead Boaters
• Diamondhead Business & Professionals Assoc.
• Diamondhead Children's Theater
• Diamondhead Continuing Education
• Diamondhead Dance Club
• Diamond Head Duffers Club
• Diamondhead Garden Club
• Diamondhead Lady Pioneers
• Diamondhead Lions Club
• Diamondhead Marathon Bridge
• Diamondhead Men's Golf Association
• Diamondhead Newcomers
• Diamondhead Performing Arts
• Diamondhead Pocket Billiards
• Diamondhead Republican Women
• Diamondhead Square & Compass
• Diamondhead Women's Club
• Diamondhead Women's Golf
• DWGA Nines
• Krewe of Diamondhead
• Krewe of Selene
• Ladies Bridge
• Ladies Bridge Party Club
• Lions Club
• Men's Bridge
• Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 771
• MOD Bridge
• NARFE
• PDQ
• PEO
• SPCA
• VFW
• VFW Ladies Aux.
• Wednesday Team Bridge
• Weight Watchers

New casinos

The casino deal with Donald Trump

Donald Trump

Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...

 and Diamondhead Casino Corporation at the front of Diamondhead had fallen through as of 1 March 2007. DCC still wishes to proceed and establish a casino. The Isle of Capri

Isle of Capri Casinos

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. is a gaming company headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri which operates casinos and associated entertainment and lodging facilities in the United States and abroad....

 construction plans at the Kiln

Kiln

A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...

 Delisle

Delisle

-People:*Baron Lisle, any one of a number of Englishmen who held this title*Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle , French poet of the Parnassian movement...

 exit of I-10 had been canceled as of 8 November 2007.

As of late 2008, casinos had applied for zoning in the south side of Diamondhead that was obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. The Silver Slipper Casino from nearby Lakeshore

Lakeshore, Mississippi

Lakeshore is an unincorporated village on the western end of Hancock County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 built a seafood restaurant, the Pier House now named the Hula Club, at the former site of the yacht club over the water. The eighty-eight acres north of there is also planned to be a major resort casino. It will be the only casino in Mississippi with virtually direct interstate access (I-10).

Hurricane Katrina

Diamondhead was one of the landfall communities of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

, which inflicted severe damage. It was hit by the most dangerous north east/eastern eye wall of Hurricane Katrina and probably experienced the highest winds seen in Mississippi. Greatly contributing to the extensive damage was a record storm surge

Storm surge

A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...

 of 25–28 feet (8.5m). Nearly all of the 200 homes and townhomes facing the water on the south side of Diamondhead were obliterated. The north side fared better, and many of the people whose homes had been destroyed in neighboring cities, as well as in Diamondhead, moved into the houses which remained on the north side. Overnight, the population swelled from 6500 to 9000.

The commercial center, including stores and restaurants, was mostly destroyed and has since been rebuilt.

Education

Diamondhead is served by the Hancock County School District

Hancock County School District

The Hancock County School District is a public school district based in the community of Kiln, Mississippi .In addition to Kiln, the district also serves the communities of Diamondhead, Pearlington, portions of Shoreline Park, as well as portions of rural Hancock County.-Elementary Schools:*Grades...

.
Local schools of interest include St. Stanislaus Catholic School

Saint Stanislaus College

St. Stanislaus College is an all-male Roman Catholic boarding school in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. It is owned and operated by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart order....

 (boys) and Our Lady Academy

Our Lady Academy

Our Lady Academy is the only all-girls Catholic high school in the state of Mississippi, United States. It takes in students grades 7-12. It is a Sister of Mercy school. Its school mascot is the "Crescent"....

(girls).

External links

• Diamondhead Country Club Homepage