Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States.

The first non-native settlement in the area was by a family of freed slaves following the American Civil War.

[11] In 1942, the town prepared to receive men assigned to the newly opened Naval Air Station Banana River.

[11] On May 1, 1942, the German submarine U-109 torpedoed the La Paz off the shore of Cocoa Beach.

[12] Local boys were recruited for salvaging efforts and to rid the beach of subsequent debris.

[13][14] Shortly thereafter, the federal government realized the danger of back-lighting from the coast making easy targets of passing ships and ordered a blackout for the remainder of the war.

During World War II, Cocoa Beach experienced money shortages to pay employees or to fix roads.

[11] In 1944, the town successfully fought a bill introduced in the Florida legislature which would have dissolved the city government.

In 1955, the city prepared to house the people who were going to be launching missiles from what is now Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education, had, in theory at least, integrated all general public facilities.

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of town.

Many people moved to Cocoa Beach due to jobs connected to the space program and in search of new opportunities.

The housing market plummeted and some people unable to sell their homes simply abandoned them.

[18] Cocoa Beach was the setting for the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, although no episodes were actually filmed there, and star Barbara Eden only made two visits during the show's production—both in 1969, for publicity.

[23] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.0 square miles (39 km2).

Bordering the city on the north is Cape Canaveral; on the south is Crescent Beach; on the east is the Atlantic Ocean (5.6 mi or 9.0 km of oceanfront); on the west is the Banana River.

[25][26] Many of the homes in Cocoa Beach are built on dredged mud and sand from the Banana River.

This climate features hot and humid summers with frequent tropical downpours and daily thundershowers, and warm, dry, and sunny winters.

[27] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,354 people, 6,064 households, and 3,003 families residing in the city.

[32] The ancestry in 2020 (excluding Latino groups), was 19.5% German, 19.4% Irish, 18.1% English, 6.4% Italian, 5.2% Polish, 4.6% French, 2.0% Scottish, 1.1% Norwegian, and 0.1% Sub-saharan African.

[34][33] As of the 2010 United States census, there were 11,231 people, 6,052 households, and 3,263 families residing in the city.

[36] The city owns and runs the Cocoa Beach Country Club, a golf course on the Banana River.

[39] In 2011, the city photographed more than 20,000 instances of vehicles running red lights by the use of automatic cameras.

The remainder went for licensing fees to the installing vendor; over half was remitted to the state.

[citation needed] Following an election, a Vice Mayor is then selected from the commission members at an organizational meeting.

[46] Cocoa Beach is home to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.

[citation needed] The following roads are usually called by their numbers when spoken: It is estimated that there are 2.4 million day trippers to the city annually.

[59] Public transportation in Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, and surrounding Brevard County is provided by Space Coast Area Transit.

The city contracted directly with Florida Power & Light for electricity, paying 10.689 cents per kilowatt hour in 2010.