• ALACHUA • BAKER • BAY • BRADFORD • BREVARD • BROWARD • CALHOUN • CHARLOTTE • CITRUS • CLAY • COLLIER • COLUMBIA • DESOTO • DIXIE • DUVAL • • JEFFERSON • INDIAN RIVER JACKSON • HOLMES • HILLSBOROUGH • HERNANDO HIGHLANDS • HARDEE HENDRY • GULF HAMILTON • GLADES • GILCHRIST • FRANKLIN GADSDEN • FLAGLER ESCAMBIA 67 Reasons To Love Florida: A COUNTY GUIDE OSCEOLA • PALM BEACH • PASCO • PINELLAS • POLK • PUTNAM • ST. JOHNS • ST. LUCIE • SANTA ROSA • SARASOTA • SEMINOLE • SUMTER • SUWANNEE • TAYLOR • UNION • VOLUSIA • WAKULLA • WALTON • WASHINGTON • WALTON • WAKULLA • UNION VOLUSIA • TAYLOR • SEMINOLE SUMTER SUWANNEE • SARASOTA ROSA • SANTA LUCIE JOHNS • ST. • POLK PUTNAM ST. • PINELLAS • PASCO BEACH • PALM OSCEOLA • ORANGE • OKEECHOBEE • OKALOOSA • NASSAU • MONROE • MIAMI-DADE • MARTIN • MARION • MANATEE • MADISON • LIBERTY • LEVY • LEON • LEE • LAKE • LAFAYETTE T rend Florida WELCOME! www.FloridaTrend.com Publisher David G. Denor Executive Editor Mark R. Howard EDITORIAL Writer Janet Ware Managing Editor John Annunziata Welcome to Florida Trend’s newest publication—“67 Reasons ADVERTISING Senior Market Director / Central Florida & North Florida to Love Florida.” Orlando - Treasure Coast - Gainesville - Brevard County Jacksonville - Tallahassee - Panama City - Pensacola Laura Armstrong 321/430-4456 You’ve probably already guessed that those 67 reasons match the Senior Market Director / Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Sarasota - Naples - Ft. Myers number of counties in the State of Florida. For each county, Florida Christine King 727/892-2641 Senior Market Director / South Florida Trend has compiled the most relevant details including population, Miami - Ft. Lauderdale - Palm Beaches density, county seat, major cities, colleges, hospitals, and Andreea Redis-Coste 954/802-4722 Advertising Coordinator transportaton options. Rana Becker 727/892-2642 Since Florida Trend is a business magazine, you won’t be surprised we list the size of the labor force, top industries, and major companies. In addition, we have listed the main attractions in each county, Made in the U.S.A. Florida Trend (ISSN 0015-4326) P.O. Box 611, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Telephone: 727/821-5800. (Street address: from a special museum to a spectacular park to a wonderful camp 490 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33701.) Copyright 2017 Trend Magazines Inc. All rights reserved. The following are registered ground. You can readily see that Florida is a hugely diverse state, trademarks and logos of Trend Magazines Inc., and their unauthorized use is strictly prohibited: Florida Trend; Golden Spoon Awards; Tallahassee Trend; Florida CEO Trends; dba Florida; Florida ranging from gorgeous coral reefs in Monroe County in the far south Small Business; Florida Trend Research Florida; Legal Elite; Florida Trend’s NEXT - Your Future After High School; Florida DataMine. to pristine beaches and Blue Angels flying practices in Escambia Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. County at the northwest. Member: BPA Worldwide, Alliance of Area Business Publications, Florida Magazine Association Most of those counties are growing just like the state—today Florida counts 21.3 million residents, but the number is increasing by more than 300,000 each year. According to U.S. census figures, Florida > Subscriber Services became the third largest state, surpassing New York, in 2014, and Online: 24/7 service at FloridaTrend.com/CustomerService. topped the 20 million mark in 2015. Now in 2019, we’re well on the E-mail: [email protected] way to nearly 22 million. Amazing growth is exciting, but also delivers Phone: 800/829-9103 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) challenges—as we must be aware of the strain it can cause on state resources like roads, schools, water and other resources. > So sit back and learn about Florida’s 67 diverse counties. They all offer something special—and they all welcome you as a visitor or long- term resident. With best regards, — David G. Denor Publisher [[email protected]] Florida Trend THE MAGAZINE OF FLORIDA BUSINESS 67 Reasons to Love Florida: A County Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS Northwest Florida Northeast Florida Central Florida Gulf Coast Florida Bay County ............................8 Alachua County .....................4 Brevard County ....................12 Citrus County .......................22 Calhoun County ...................18 Baker County .........................6 Glades County .....................47 DeSoto County ....................30 Escambia County .................37 Bradford County ..................10 Highlands County ................59 Hardee County ....................53 Franklin County ...................41 Clay County .........................24 Indian River County .............67 Hernando County ................57 Gadsden County ..................43 Columbia County .................28 Lake County ........................75 Hillsborough County ...........61 Gulf County .........................49 Dixie County ........................32 Martin County .....................94 Manatee County ..................90 Holmes County ....................65 Duval County .......................34 Okeechobee County ..........108 Pasco County .....................120 Jackson County ...................69 Flagler County .....................39 Orange County ..................110 Pinellas County .................122 Jefferson County .................71 Gilchrist County ...................45 Osceola County ..................114 Sarasota County ................137 Leon County ........................81 Hamilton County .................51 Polk County .......................125 Sumter County ..................143 Liberty County ....................86 Lafayette County .................73 Saint Lucie County .............132 Madison County ..................88 Levy County ........................84 Seminole County ...............140 South Florida Okaloosa County ...............106 Marion County ....................92 Volusia County ..................151 Broward County ..................15 Santa Rosa County ............135 Nassau County ..................104 Charlotte County .................20 Taylor County ....................147 Putnam County .................128 Collier County ......................26 Wakulla County .................154 Saint Johns County ............130 Hendry County ....................55 Walton County ..................156 Suwannee County .............145 Lee County ..........................78 Washington County ...........158 Union County ....................149 Miami-Dade County ............97 Monroe County .................101 Palm Beach County ...........117 You can easily navigate this digital edition of Florida Trend’s 67 Reasons to Love Florida: A County Guide by clicking on the name of the county you are interested in reviewing. When finished, simply click on theF lorida Trend logo at the bottom of the page you are currently on, and you will automatically be brought back to this Table of Contents. Alachua County Key facts Population: 269,956 Land size (square miles): no change High Springs Population density: 305 per square mile Alachua Per capita income: $43,839 Waldo 441 Time zone: Eastern 24 Climate: Average high/low temperatures (Fahrenheit) ALACHUA COUNTY 301 January 66/42 41 July 91/72 26 75 Gainesville County seat: Gainesville Newberry Hawthorne 20 Largest cities/towns: Gainesville (pop. 132,249) 24 Alachua (pop. 9,982) 121 High Springs (pop. 6,033) Archer Newberry (pop. 5,942) Micanopy Hawthorne (pop. 1,519) Who lives here: Some of Florida’s most highly educated people: 41% of Gainesville residents over age 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to the national average Holmes of 31%. Escambia Jackson Santa RosaOkaloosa Walton Washington Nassau Gadsden Hamilton Calhoun Leon Madison Bay Jeerson Suwannee Baker Duval Liberty Wakulla Taylor Columbia Union Clay Names to know Gulf Franklin Lafayette Bradford St. Johns Gilchrist Alachua Dixie Putnam County manager: Michele L. Lieberman Flagler Levy Marion County commissioners: District 1 – Mike Byerly Volusia District 2 – Marihelen Wheeler Citrus Lake Sumter Seminole District 3 – Robert “Hutch” Hutchinson Hernando Orange District 4 – Ken Cornell Pasco Osceola District 5 – Charles “Chuck” Chestnut IV Brevard Hillsborough Polk Pinellas Tax collector: John Power Indian River Manatee Hardee Okeechobee Highlands St. Lucie School superintendent: Karen Clarke De Soto Sarasota Martin Charlotte Glades Palm Beach Lee Hendry Business Broward Collier Labor force: 137,339 Monroe Dade Primary industries: Life sciences; information technology; manufacturing; distribution Notable private employers: Brammer Bio; RTI Surgical; Nationwide Insurance; Exactech; Info Tech; Nanotherapeutics; Walmart Distribution Center Sales tax rate: 7% 67 REASONS TO LOVE FLORIDA: A County Guide | 4 Alachua County Education Public school system: Alachua County Public Schools 22 elementary schools 9 middle schools 7 high schools 14 charter schools Public/private universities: Barry University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences Ocala/Gainesville: 1500 SW 1st Avenue, 2nd Floor, Ocala University of Florida Main campus: Office of Admissions, 201 Criser Hall, Gainesville Saint Leo University Gainesville Education Center: 4650 NW 39th Place, Suite B, Gainesville State colleges: Santa Fe College Northwest (main) campus: 3000 NW 83rd Street, Gainesville Blount Center, 401 NW 6th Street, Gainesville Davis Center: 17500 SW Archer Road, Archer Kirkpatrick Center,