Short answer: Florida state government paid $2,452,241,588 in wages in Leon County in 2025, across an average of 36,250 jobs at 174 establishments, by BLS QCEW figures. Florida’s statewide state government payroll that year was $14,420,123,675. State jobs there averaged $67,647 a year, above the $64,017 private average, and the March 2026 count of 36,598 state jobs was 387 higher than a year earlier.
Last verified: October 19, 2026, against the sources listed at the end of this page.
How big is the state government payroll in Tallahassee and Leon County?
State government paid $2,452,241,588 in wages in Leon County in 2025, spread over an average of 36,250 jobs at 174 establishments (BLS QCEW, Leon County 2025).
The figure comes from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which sorts every covered job by who owns the employer; ownership code 2 is State Government (BLS ownership codes). Leon County calls itself Florida’s capital county, home to the legislative and executive offices and the State House and Senate chambers (Leon County), and the QCEW state government row is the measure of that payroll used here.
| Ownership | Establishments | Average jobs | Total annual wages | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State government | 174 | 36,250 | $2,452,241,588 | $67,647 |
| Local government | 22 | 11,614 | $691,574,923 | $59,548 |
| Federal government | 42 | 1,926 | $194,862,754 | $101,157 |
| Private | 10,634 | 115,582 | $7,399,156,153 | $64,017 |
| All ownerships | 10,872 | 165,372 | $10,737,835,418 | $64,931 |
Last verified: October 18, 2026, by pulling the state government ownership rows from the Leon County and Florida QCEW 2025 annual files and the first quarter 2026 Leon file, then rereading the Florida salary lookup notes, the BLS metro table, the OEV dashboard and Leon County’s statistics box.
Do state jobs in Tallahassee pay more than private jobs?
On average, yes: state government jobs in Leon County averaged $67,647 in annual pay in 2025, against $64,017 for private employers (BLS QCEW, Leon County 2025).
The state government average weekly wage was $1,301, while federal jobs in the county, a much smaller group of 1,926, averaged $101,157 a year and local government jobs averaged $59,548 (BLS QCEW). The all-ownership average across Leon County was $64,931.
State pay in Leon County also ran above the state government average for Florida as a whole, which was $64,700 in 2025 (BLS QCEW, Florida 2025).
Which kinds of state work make up the Leon County payroll?
Public administration carried most of it: 23,936 state jobs and $1,495,738,259 in 2025 wages in Leon County (BLS QCEW, Leon County 2025).
The QCEW sorts state jobs into the same supersectors used for private industry, where code 1028 is Public Administration (NAICS 92) and code 1025 is Education and Health Services (BLS supersector titles). State jobs in education and health services numbered 11,611 in Leon County, with $904,294,220 in wages and an average annual pay of $77,885 (BLS QCEW). The QCEW row does not name the employers behind it.
| Supersector (code) | Average jobs | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|
| Public administration (1028) | 23,936 | $62,488 |
| Education and health services (1025) | 11,611 | $77,885 |
| Leisure and hospitality (1026) | 170 | $51,042 |
| Professional and business services (1024) | 146 | $78,881 |
| Financial activities (1023) | 144 | $124,837 |
| Natural resources and mining (1011) | 130 | $63,437 |
Smaller state groups in the county were information, with 72 jobs at $40,623, and trade, transportation and utilities, with 30 jobs at $93,248 (BLS QCEW).
Is the Tallahassee state payroll growing in 2026?
The Leon County wage file says yes through early 2026, while two other official measures for the Tallahassee area show public jobs shrinking, and the sources are stated side by side here without a verdict.
From 2024 to 2025, Leon County state government added 502 jobs (1.4 percent) and $123,928,198 in wages (5.3 percent) (BLS QCEW 2025). In the first quarter of 2026 the county count of state jobs went from 35,960 in January to 36,492 in February and 36,598 in March, 387 more than in March 2025, with $597,168,470 in quarterly wages and an average weekly wage of $1,264 (BLS QCEW first quarter 2026).
The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality reports that public sector employment in the second quarter of 2026 was 900 below the second quarter of 2025, while private sector employment rose by 1,300; the same dashboard puts the average weekly wage at $1,301 in the fourth quarter of 2025, $76 more than in the fourth quarter of 2024 (OEV dashboard). BLS Economy at a Glance, a monthly, not seasonally adjusted series for the Tallahassee metro area, shows all government jobs at 64,400 in March 2026, 64,300 in April, 60,300 in May, 59,900 in June and 59,500 in July, then 60,500 in August on a preliminary basis, 0.7 percent below a year earlier (BLS Economy at a Glance).
The two series measure different things: the QCEW figures above cover state government in one county, while the metro survey and the OEV dashboard count all levels of government or the whole public sector.
How can a Florida state employee salary be looked up?
The State of Florida Employee Salaries site lets anyone search individual state salaries by agency, class code and salary range, using data from the People First personnel system that is refreshed every Monday (State of Florida Employee Salaries).
Its coverage differs from the QCEW payroll. The site includes the State Personnel System agencies, the Lottery, the Justice Administrative Commission (for example state attorney and public defender staff) and the State Courts System (for example judges), but not the Legislature, the state university system, benefit-only entities or city and county employees (State of Florida Employee Salaries). Listed annual salaries include pay additives such as hazardous duty and critical market pay but not overtime, and OPS workers are shown with an hourly rate instead of an annual figure.
For a resident comparing an offer, that means the salary lookup answers what a specific position pays, while the QCEW averages above answer what the state payroll as a whole puts into the Leon County economy. Vacant positions and information that is confidential or exempt under Florida public records law are left out of the lookup (State of Florida Employee Salaries).
Frequently asked questions
How much does Florida state government pay in wages in Leon County?
State government paid $2,452,241,588 in total wages in Leon County in 2025, across an average of 36,250 jobs at 174 establishments, according to the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
What is the average state government salary in Tallahassee?
State government jobs in Leon County averaged $67,647 in annual pay in 2025, or $1,301 a week, by BLS QCEW figures. Private jobs in the county averaged $64,017.
How many of Florida’s state government jobs are in Leon County?
Leon County had 36,250 of Florida’s 222,878 state government jobs in 2025, and $2,452,241,588 of the $14,420,123,675 in Florida state government wages, by the 2025 QCEW files for the county and the state.
Where can individual Florida state employee salaries be searched?
The State of Florida Employee Salaries site, part of Florida Has a Right to Know, lists People First salary data refreshed every Monday. It leaves out the Legislature, state universities and city and county employees.
Sources
- QCEW 2025 annual averages, Leon County (12073), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/area/12073.csv Used for: state government ownership row: 174 establishments, 36,250 jobs, $2,452,241,588 total wages, $67,647 average annual pay, $1,301 average weekly wage, location quotients 6.97 (jobs) and 6.81 (wages), change of 502 jobs and $123,928,198; federal, local, private and all ownership rows; state government by supersector
- QCEW 2025 annual averages, Florida statewide (12000), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/area/12000.csv Used for: Florida state government: 2,204 establishments, 222,878 jobs, $14,420,123,675 total wages, $64,700 average annual pay
- QCEW first quarter 2026, Leon County (12073), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2026/1/area/12073.csv Used for: state government: 173 establishments, 36,598 March 2026 jobs, $597,168,470 quarterly wages, $1,264 average weekly wage, change of 387 jobs (1.1 percent) from March 2025, location quotient 6.93
- QCEW ownership codes, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/cew/classifications/ownerships/ownership-titles.htm Used for: ownership code 2 = State Government
- QCEW high-level industry titles, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/cew/classifications/industry/industry-supersectors.htm Used for: supersector codes 1011 to 1029 and NAICS 92 Public Administration
- QCEW location quotient details, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/cew/about-data/location-quotients-explained.htm Used for: definition of a location quotient, U.S. reference area
- State of Florida Employee Salaries (Florida Has a Right to Know) https://salaries.myflorida.com/ Used for: People First data, weekly refresh, agencies included and excluded, OPS hourly rate
- Economy at a Glance, Tallahassee, FL, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.fl_tallahassee_msa.htm Used for: Tallahassee metro government jobs March to August 2026
- Quarterly Economic Dashboard, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality https://oevforbusiness.org/data-center/economic-dashboard/ Used for: public sector employment down 900 in Q2 2026; average weekly wage $1,301 in Q4 2025
- About Leon County, Leon County Government https://cms.leoncountyfl.gov/Government/County-Commission/About-Leon-County Used for: capital county statement, population 299,130, 67 percent within city limits
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