Welcome to Destin ...

The coastal city of Destin is located in Okaloosa County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Destin, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was on a map dated 1956.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Destin has a population of 14,289 people<2> (see below for details).

Destin is near sea level<3>.

Time Zone: Destin lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Telephone area codes for Destin: (850) and (448)<4>

The ZIP codes for Destin: 32540-32541<5>

Websites for Destin ...

Official Website:   www.cityofdestin.com/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.destinchamber.com/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Destin had an population of 14,289 people. This is an increase of 16.12% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 28.51% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Destin had a population of 12,305 people (which is 6.81% of the total population of Okaloosa County). This makes Destin the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Destin represents 0.07% of the total population of Florida (which has 18,801,310 people), making it the state's 144th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 12,305 people, the population of Destin increased 10.67% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 11,119 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Destin.

Communities near Destin ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Destin.

• Fort Walton Beach
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Walton Beach
  • Fort Walton Beach is located in Okaloosa County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,396 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Walton Beach <6>
• Niceville
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niceville
  • Niceville is located in Okaloosa County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,217 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Niceville <6>
• Valparaiso
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valparaiso
  • Valparaiso is located in Okaloosa County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,848 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valparaiso <6>
• Mary Esther
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Esther
  • Mary Esther is located in Okaloosa County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,462 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mary Esther <6>
• Shalimar
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shalimar
  • Shalimar is located in Okaloosa County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shalimar <6>
• Cinco Bayou
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cinco Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinco Bayou
  • Cinco Bayou is located in Okaloosa County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
• Eglin Village
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eglin Village have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eglin Village
  • Eglin Village is located in Okaloosa County
• Lake Lorraine
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Lorraine have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lorraine
  • Lake Lorraine is located in Okaloosa County
• Miramar Beach
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miramar Beach
  • Miramar Beach is located in Walton County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miramar Beach <6>
• Ocean City
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean City
  • Ocean City is located in Okaloosa County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Destin. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Destin.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Destin. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Destin.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Destin. See our Newspapers Page for Destin.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Destin ...

Looking for more information about Destin? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Destin, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Destin.

Adding Destin to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Destin in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Destin was on a map titled Road Map for Florida (from Shell Oil, 1956).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Destin.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Destin: www.cityofdestin.com/

The official website for Okaloosa County: www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/