The presence of the state capital and two major universities helps to shape Leon County's population as relatively young, well educated, and affluent. A median age of 28.8 years ranks Leon County as the second youngest county in Florida, while our education level is the highest in the state. Leon County's relative wealth is depicted by a median family income that is almmost 10% greater than the state median.

The population of Leon County has grown at an annual rate of 2.6% since 1980, increasing from 148,655 in 1980 to 192,493 in 1990. The City of Tallahassee has experienced a population increase of 53% since 1980, increasing from 81,548 in 1980 to 124,773 in 1990. The majority of the City's population growth can be attributed to numerous annexations during this time period.

Government employment, particularly State employment in Tallahassee and Leon County, has historically been the stabilizing force on the local economy. Representing 42% of all non-agricultural employment, government employment has helped to keep unemployment relatively low.

This heavy concentration of employment in one particular sector, however, has the effect of making Leon County's economy susceptible to downturns in that sector. In 1983, for example, a

proposed constitutional amendment popularly known as "Proposition One" could have devastated Leon County's economic base by causing substantial reductions in State government employment.

Recognizing the need to diversify the area's economy, the local government and the Chamber of Commerce are intensifying their efforts to attract additional industry to the area, and to assist the expansion of existing local industries.

A wide range of public and private community facilities and services are available to residents of Tallahassee and Leon County. Some of these are highlighted below:

• TALTRAN, a City owned transit system offering bus service within Tallahassee.
• City electric, water, sewer and gas systems in the Tallahassee service area; Talquin Electric Cooperative utility service in the Talquin service area.
• City fire protection serving both Tallahassee (Class 2 rating) and Leon County with nine stations within the City Limits and five fire stations in the unincorporated County.
• Tallahassee Memorial Regional Medical Center, a private non-profit hospital with 771 beds serving North Florida.
• Tallahassee Community Hospital, a private hospital with 180 beds.
• Recreation facilities and open space include:
  • Over 1,00 ares of public park and recreation land in the City of Tallahassee meeting active and passive recrational needs.
  • Three public and three privately-owned golf courses.
  • 26 seperate boat landing park facilities on Leon County lakes covering almost 50 acres of land.
  • State Parks including Cascades, Maclay Gardens, Indian Mounds, River Bluff, Silver Lake, and Natural Bridge.
  • Numerous recreation activities are available within the 103,500 acres of Apalachicola National Forest.
• Public schools in Leon County include 22 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, and 4 high schools, plus alternative learning opportunities, including 15 private schools, and 2 university research schools. Higher education opportunities are available at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Florida State University (FSU), and Tallahassee Community College (TCC). Lively Vocational Technical School offers technical training opportunities

• Library services are available at the Leon County Public Library, Florida State Library, and facilities at FAMU, FSU, and TCC.
• Communications available include eight television stations and 21 radio stations.
• There are 42 shopping centers that each contain at least 25,000 square feet of space, including two enclosed malls.
• The Junior Museum is a natural history museum displaying a pioneer homestead, the historic Murat House, and animal habitats.
• LeMoyne Art Foundation offers visual art and educational opportunities to the community.
• The Museum of Florida History provides a colorful and comprehensive introduction to Florida's past.
• The Tallahassee Little Theatre and Florida State University Fine Arts Center represent two of many performing arts activities in Tallahassee.
• The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, with a 13,500 seating capacity, provides major indoor arena and convention space.
• Historical preservation is promoted through the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board located in the Brokaw-McDougall House.
• The Florida State Conference Center, a recent addition to FSU's Center for Professional Development offers conference and dining space for over 400 persons.
• Innovation Park/Tallahassee, a 238 acre university related research park developed to encourage both public and private agencies to engage in reasearch, testing, design, analysis, and limited product assembly.