Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,018. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census.HistoryDeerfield Beach's history dates back to 1890 when a small settlement named Hillsborough was developed along the Hillsboro River. As the population grew to 20 by 1898, the settlement was now served by its own post office and the town was named Deerfield for the deer that grazed along the Hillsboro River.By the early twentieth century, as the town's population continued to grow, the Florida East Coast Railroad constructed tracks en route to Miami bisecting Deerfield. Deerfield's early settlers were mostly farmers who grew pineapples, tomatoes, green beans, squash and fished along the Intracoastal Waterway. Through the 1940s, Deerfield remained a largely agricultural based community, but in 1939 the town's name was changed to Deerfield Beach to let tourists know it has a beach.DemographicsAs of 2010, there were 42,671 households, of which 21.8% were vacant. As of 2000, 16.3% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.72.