Short answer: State government holds 36,250 of Leon County's 165,372 jobs in the 2025 BLS count, the largest block after private employers combined, and the 2025 average annual pay across all Leon County jobs is $64,931. In the second quarter of 2026 private employment rose and public employment fell from a year earlier, according to the Office of Economic Vitality. Seven guides cover employers, payroll, FSU, the session, OEV, the airport and the region.
Last verified: October 19, 2026, against the sources listed at the end of this page.
How many jobs are in Tallahassee and Leon County, and what do they pay?
Leon County averaged 165,372 jobs in 10,872 establishments in 2025, at an average annual pay of $64,931, and the county added 1,618 jobs over 2024 (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages).
| Employer type | Establishments | Jobs | Average annual pay | Change in jobs from 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All employers | 10,872 | 165,372 | $64,931 | +1,618 |
| Private sector | 10,634 | 115,582 | $64,017 | +1,064 |
| State government | 174 | 36,250 | $67,647 | +502 |
| Local government | 22 | 11,614 | $59,548 | +151 |
| Federal government | 42 | 1,926 | $101,157 | -99 |
Source for the table: BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages. The federal row is small but carries the highest average pay of the four employer types, and it was the only one to lose jobs in 2025.
How much of the Tallahassee economy is state government?
State government is the single biggest employer type after the private sector as a whole: its 36,250 Leon County jobs in 2025 included 23,936 in state public administration and 11,439 in state educational services (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages).
The state educational services line covers 11,439 jobs in three establishments at an average annual pay of $78,165, and state public administration spreads its 23,936 jobs across 160 establishments at $62,488 (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages). The QCEW file names industries and owners, not employers, so it does not say which agencies or universities those establishments are. State government jobs grew by 502 in 2025 in that file, and local government jobs by 151 (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages).
The monthly metro series moves through the year: government jobs in the Tallahassee metropolitan area stood at 64.4 thousand in March 2026 and 59.5 thousand in July, before a preliminary 60.5 thousand in August (BLS Economy at a Glance, Tallahassee MSA). The table does not give a reason for the change.
Among employed City of Tallahassee residents, 12.9 percent work in public administration and 28.4 percent in educational services, health care and social assistance, in the Census Bureau's five year survey (ACS 2020-2024 DP03, City of Tallahassee); across all of Leon County the public administration share is 13.9 percent (ACS 2020-2024 DP03, Leon County). The state capital payroll guide and the legislative session impact guide look at the government side in depth; the FSU economic impact guide covers the university's own published estimate.
Which private industries employ the most people in Tallahassee?
Health care and social assistance is Leon County's largest private industry, with 22,736 jobs in 1,190 establishments in 2025 at an average pay of $65,795 (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages).
Accommodation and food services and professional, scientific and technical services also pass 15,000 jobs. Accommodation and food services has 16,659 jobs at an average annual pay of $25,486, the lowest of the large industries, and professional, scientific and technical services has 15,172 jobs at $112,906, the highest (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages). Professional services added 418 jobs in 2025, the largest gain among the three, while accommodation and food services added 36 and health care 225 (BLS QCEW, Leon County, 2025 annual averages).
In the BLS monthly metro series, professional and business services reached 31.1 thousand jobs in August 2026, up 5.4 percent over 12 months, and leisure and hospitality 20.3 thousand, up 5.7 percent, both preliminary (BLS Economy at a Glance, Tallahassee MSA). The major employers guide names the largest individual employers and the Big Bend region economy guide covers the wider region.
Is the Tallahassee job market growing or shrinking in 2026?
Total employment rose slightly while government jobs fell: the Office of Economic Vitality reports private sector employment up 1,300 and public sector employment down 900 in the second quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier (Office of Economic Vitality economic dashboard).
The OEV dashboard puts second quarter 2026 employment at 201,500, up 400 from the second quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate at 4.9 percent against 3.7 percent a year before, and the average weekly wage at $1,301 in the fourth quarter of 2025 (Office of Economic Vitality economic dashboard). The BLS series for the Tallahassee metropolitan area shows total nonfarm jobs at 200.5 thousand in August 2026, up 1.3 percent over 12 months, and government jobs at 60.5 thousand, down 0.7 percent; both August figures are preliminary (BLS Economy at a Glance, Tallahassee MSA).
Unemployment rates differ by source and period. OEV gives 4.9 percent for the second quarter of 2026, BLS gives 4.9 percent for the metro area in August 2026 after 5.1 percent in July (BLS Economy at a Glance, Tallahassee MSA), and the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 average for city residents is 6.4 percent (ACS 2020-2024 DP03, City of Tallahassee). Each figure is reported as published.
Who runs economic development in Tallahassee, and what else does the dashboard track?
The Office of Economic Vitality is one of the two departments of the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, whose page shows the Leon County Board of County Commissioners and the Tallahassee City Commission, and it receives 12 percent of the one-cent sales surtax (Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency).
Of the same surtax, Blueprint Infrastructure receives 66 percent, the City of Tallahassee and Leon County 10 percent each, and Leon County a further 2 percent for its LIFE program (Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency). The OEV dashboard tracks more than jobs: office vacancy was 5.3 percent and industrial vacancy 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the median single family sales price was $330,000 in the first quarter of 2026, and tourist tax receipts were $2.41 million in that quarter (Office of Economic Vitality economic dashboard). New single family permits totaled 189 in the second quarter, 120 in the City of Tallahassee and 69 in unincorporated Leon County.
Most housing units permitted inside the City of Tallahassee in 2025 were in buildings of five or more units. For the whole of 2025 the City of Tallahassee reported permits for 468 units in one unit buildings valued at $89,892,719 and for 1,384 units in 40 buildings of five or more units valued at $296,362,197 (Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, 2025).
The City of Tallahassee Aviation Department provides administrative oversight of Tallahassee International Airport, where the International Processing Facility is a multi-year, $28 million project in the City's Five-Year Strategic Plan aimed at raising the airport's annual economic impact to $1 billion (Tallahassee International Airport). OEV counts 220,773 Tallahassee passengers in the second quarter of 2026, 16,361 fewer than a year earlier (Office of Economic Vitality economic dashboard).
Which Tallahassee economy guide answers which question?
Seven Tallahassee economy guides each take one part of the local economy; the table matches each to its question.
| Question | Guide |
|---|---|
| How does the wider Big Bend region's economy compare? | Big Bend region economy guide |
| What does Florida State University say it adds to the local economy? | FSU economic impact guide |
| What changes in Tallahassee during the annual legislative session? | Legislative session impact guide |
| Who are the largest employers in Tallahassee? | Major employers guide |
| What does the joint city and county economic development office do? | Office of Economic Vitality guide |
| How big is the state government payroll in the capital? | State capital payroll guide |
| Who owns the airport, which airlines fly there, and what is the customs facility? | Tallahassee International Airport guide |
Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the 2025 Leon County QCEW annual file, the August 2026 Tallahassee metro Economy at a Glance table, the second quarter 2026 OEV dashboard, Blueprint's surtax split and the City of Tallahassee airport home page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest employer type in Tallahassee?
Outside the private sector as a whole, state government is the largest: 36,250 of Leon County's 165,372 jobs in 2025, per BLS QCEW annual averages.
What is the average pay in Leon County?
The 2025 average annual pay across all Leon County jobs was $64,931 in BLS QCEW data. Private sector pay averaged $64,017 and state government $67,647.
What is the unemployment rate in Tallahassee?
BLS reports 4.9 percent for the Tallahassee metro area in August 2026, a preliminary figure. The Office of Economic Vitality also lists 4.9 percent for the second quarter of 2026.
Are government jobs in Tallahassee growing?
Not in 2026. OEV reports public sector employment down 900 in the second quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, and BLS shows metro government jobs down 0.7 percent over the 12 months to August 2026.
Who handles economic development for Tallahassee and Leon County?
The Office of Economic Vitality, one of two departments of the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, which receives 12 percent of the one-cent sales surtax.
Sources
- QCEW Leon County 12073, 2025 annual averages (CSV), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/area/12073.csv Used for: total, federal, state, local and private establishments, jobs, average annual pay and job change; private health care, accommodation and food services, professional services; state educational services and state public administration
- Tallahassee, FL Economy at a Glance, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.fl_tallahassee_msa.htm Used for: MSA labor force, unemployment rate, total nonfarm and government jobs, March to August 2026
- Economic Dashboard, Office of Economic Vitality https://oevforbusiness.org/data-center/economic-dashboard/ Used for: Q2 2026 employment, private and public sector change, unemployment rate, airport passengers, permits, home price, tourist tax, office vacancy, average weekly wage
- What is Blueprint, Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency https://www.blueprintia.org/what-is-blueprint/ Used for: OEV is one of two Blueprint departments; one-cent sales surtax split
- Tallahassee International Airport, City of Tallahassee https://www.talgov.com/airport/airport Used for: city Aviation Department, International Processing Facility $28 million, Breeze nonstop routes, $1 billion impact goal
- ACS 2020-2024 5-year DP03, Tallahassee city, U.S. Census Bureau https://data.census.gov/api/access/data/table?id=ACSDP5Y2024.DP03&g=160XX00US1270600 Used for: industry shares of employed city residents, median household income
- ACS 2020-2024 5-year DP03, Leon County, U.S. Census Bureau https://data.census.gov/api/access/data/table?id=ACSDP5Y2024.DP03&g=050XX00US12073 Used for: industry shares of employed county residents
- Building Permits Survey, South Region places, 2025 annual, U.S. Census Bureau https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt Used for: Tallahassee row: 468 single family units valued $89,892,719; 40 buildings with 5+ units, 1,384 units, $296,362,197
How this page was made
Digital Towns uses AI assistance to research and write its guides, and every page is only as good as the sources it cites. Our goal is the most accurate, useful local information possible.
This page was fact-checked twice before publishing.
If you see an error, or anything you can show is false, tell us right away and we will take a third look.
Report an error
Thank you. We'll take a third look and correct the page if it's wrong.
