Leon County added nearly 1,600 jobs over the past year, outperforming most of Florida’s larger employment centers, according to Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data released Aug. 28.
The QCEW figures show Leon County’s average employment increased from 164,916 during the first quarter of 2025 to 166,490 during the first quarter of 2026. The addition of 1,574 jobs represented a 1.0% increase.
Among the 27 Florida counties with average employment exceeding 75,000, Leon ranked 10th in percentage job growth. Only 13 of the 27 counties added jobs, while 14 recorded declines.
St. Johns County posted the strongest percentage increase at 2.5%, followed by Manatee at 1.9%, Marion at 1.8% and Pasco at 1.8%. Orange County recorded the largest numerical gain, adding 11,918 jobs for an increase of 1.3%.
By comparison, several large North Florida counties lost jobs. Employment declined 1.2% in Alachua County, 1.3% in Bay, 1.4% in Duval, 1.8% in Escambia and 1.1% in Okaloosa.
Collectively, employment among the 27 counties declined by approximately 15,200 jobs, or 0.2%. The largest numerical losses occurred in Broward County, down 8,498 jobs; Duval, down 7,984; Hillsborough, down 7,643; and Miami-Dade, down 6,326.
Leon County’s wage performance was less favorable.
Leon County’s $1,249 average weekly wage ranked 16th among the 27 Florida counties with more than 75,000 employees. Among the six large North Florida counties meeting that threshold, Leon ranked fifth—behind Duval County at $1,569, Okaloosa at $1,298, Escambia at $1,280 and Alachua at $1,276. Leon’s weekly wage exceeded only Bay County, which averaged $1,086. Thus, while Leon performed relatively well in year-over-year employment growth, its absolute wage level remained in the lower half of Florida’s large counties and near the bottom of the region’s major employment centers.
The county’s average weekly wage increased from $1,226 to $1,249, a gain of $23, or 1.9%. That ranked 24th among the 27 counties for percentage wage growth.
Brevard County recorded the largest percentage wage increase at 7.1%, followed by Palm Beach at 7.0%, Pinellas at 5.7% and Hillsborough at 5.6%. Across the 27-county group, the aggregate average weekly wage increased approximately 4.2%, from $1,427 to $1,486.
The figures indicate that Leon County compared favorably in creating or retaining jobs during the period, particularly against other North Florida employment centers. However, its comparatively modest wage increase suggests local pay growth did not keep pace with most of the state’s larger county economies.
Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, first-quarter 2025 and first-quarter 2026 data released Aug. 28, 2026. Wage figures are nominal and are not adjusted for inflation.
Be the first to leave a comment on this article.