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is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,482 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 12,435. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
On July 27, 1925, Cocoa Beach held its first official meeting at the Cocoa Beach Casino, and adopted the City Seal. A little less than a month later, plans for a pier became official. During World War II, Cocoa Beach experienced money shortages for employees, and money to fix roads. In September, 1959, the city voted to add more sidewalks, improve the streets in residential areas and the main streets, and to pave more roads.
In 1965, Cocoa Beach High School requested that Cocoa Avenue, the street that the school was located on, be changed to Minutemen Blvd., in honour of the school's mascot, the Minuteman. Over the next couple decades, the school would come to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and was ranked the 46th best high school in America in 2006.
Cocoa Beach started its major growth during the 1960s due to America's space program. NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center is located approximately 15 miles north of the town. Many people moved to Cocoa Beach due to their jobs involving the space program, and in search of new opportunity.
Many of the homes in Cocoa Beach are built on dredged mud and sand from the Banana River. After NASA's Apollo program came to an end, and before the Shuttle program was in full swing, the town suffered from layoffs. Many families lost their jobs or simply moved away. People could not sell their homes and some walked away from them.
, although only one episode was actually filmed there (Jeannie's wedding). Also, Cocoa Beach High School was used as the school in the 2000 movie "Race to Space".
The city is just south of Cape Canaveral on Florida's eastern "Space Coast".