Tallahassee, Florida

Area Profile

201,875 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Tallahassee, in Leon County.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 44% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,373rd of 4,199 cities measured41
SchoolsTop 41% of 4,162 cities measured57
GrowthTop 23% of 4,224 cities measured64
Housing affordability2,650th of 4,218 cities measured61
ClimateTop 25% of 4,225 cities measured76
Physical resilience2,679th of 4,226 cities measured46
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability3,245th of 4,226 cities measured41
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.5% and the Opportunity signal places Tallahassee in the bottom 20%.

In the public schools here, 62% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.8 students for every teacher.

1,653 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
201,875
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$57,409
Bottom 35% nationally
Density
1,968/sq mi
102.6 sq mi of land
Median age
28.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Florida
Metro area
Nearest major airport
TLH
7 mi · Tallahassee Intl
Median home value
$294,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.5% — higher than in all but 12% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Unemployment has been rising for 4 consecutive months, most recently 5.5%.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 109,403 employed residents.

51% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLeon County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$52,10411th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLeon County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,36117th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,1892024 ACS 5-Year$57,409Bottom 35%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3622024 ACS 5-Year$36,567Top 41%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.3%Bottom 31%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.5 minTop 19%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year51.3%Top 11%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year70.3%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026109,403Top 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.2%Top 48%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026115,73659th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageTallahassee, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$59,560Bottom 14%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageTallahassee, FL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,520Bottom 12%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%90th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.8%Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.5%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%72nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.52.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.5% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 4 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202457k49k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $57,409 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Tallahassee, FL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Management Analysts6,160$58,860
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,600$27,600
Retail Salespersons5,130$30,330
General and Operations Managers4,360$95,250
Office Clerks, General3,710$38,360
Cashiers3,520$29,180

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.8 students for every full-time teacher across 52 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
55
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.8
across 52 of them
Math proficiency
62.4%
Top 31% in Florida
Reading proficiency
58.7%
Top 42% in Florida
The 12 largest of 55 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lawton Chiles High SchoolLEON1,88126.177%80%
Florida State University School · charterFSU LAB SCH1,85125.082%77%
Lincoln High SchoolLEON1,82226.859%62%
Leon High SchoolLEON1,79324.671%68%
James Rickards High SchoolLEON1,71826.446%41%
Amos P. Godby High SchoolLEON1,38821.738%34%
William J Montford III Middle SchoolLEON1,01620.385%77%
Raa Middle SchoolLEON92820.654%52%
Deerlake Middle SchoolLEON87620.484%77%
Gilchrist Elementary SchoolLEON85716.585%81%
Roberts Elementary SchoolLEON80714.485%82%
Swift Creek Middle SchoolLEON79318.968%64%

40.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Tallahassee, FL Metro Area is up 43% over five years, and up 5.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,540 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.86% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,352, close to the $1,293 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,352 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,100 a year, about 94% of the median household income here of $57,409.

The typical renter household here spends 37% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,293 a month.

A median home at $294,400 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $99,218, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
95.6

Prices here run about 4% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Tallahassee, FL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
36.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,352
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,293
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$294,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Tallahassee’s median household income of $57,409, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Tallahassee, FL Metro Area’s figure202395.6Top 29%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Tallahassee, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.0%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Tallahassee, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+42.9%51st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Tallahassee, FL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+93.7%51st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 36%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year40.6%4th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6822024 ACS 5-Year97,24599th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,204Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,674Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,352Top 32%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$282024 ACS 5-Year$1,293Bottom 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,0292024 ACS 5-Year$294,40071st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$832024 ACS 5-Year$2,54066th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,3702024 ACS 5-Year$99,218Top 28%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.86%43rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year36.5%Bottom 17%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3252024 ACS 5-Year1,01498th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%62nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%68th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±9702024 ACS 5-Year11,93499th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

64/ 100
Top 23% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 205,089 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 1,898 units authorized in 2025, up 30% on the prior year.

68% of the 1,653 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Leon County, which contains Tallahassee, lost about 1.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $52,104, below the $56,361 of households that moved out.

At 8.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,653
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.2
Top 16% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
67.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024205k198k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
41%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$52,104
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,361
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Gadsden County, FL 988 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  2. Wakulla County, FL 556 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  3. Broward County, FL 543 people · 4.1% of arrivals
  4. Miami-Dade County, FL 515 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  5. Hillsborough County, FL 441 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Gadsden County, FL 1,124 people · 7.4% of departures
  2. Wakulla County, FL 1,019 people · 6.7% of departures
  3. Duval County, FL 573 people · 3.8% of departures
  4. Hillsborough County, FL 515 people · 3.4% of departures
  5. Orange County, FL 440 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Leon County, FL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420252k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+20%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 41°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 58.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TALLAHASSEE, 6.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year592024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals58.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
59
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

46 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 33% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingModerate
WildfireModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, heat wave, strong wind, earthquake, winter weather, hail, drought, coastal flooding, avalanche, tsunami, ice storm, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
629
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,381
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Tallahassee's police department reported 629 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,381.

Leon County records 7.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 9.8 per 100,000 residents in Leon County.

Homicide
7.4
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Tallahassee’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Tallahassee (Leon County) rather than Tallahassee itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Tallahassee Intl at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year91.1%Top 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 16%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tallahassee IntlTLH7 mi8,000 ft
Valdosta RgnlVLD62 mi8,003 ft
Northwest Florida Beaches IntlECP92 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
57
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Tallahassee, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BradfordvilleLeon County18,95365Bradfordville vs Tallahassee

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Tallahassee side by side with a similar place.

Tallahassee vs SanfordTallahassee vs Greensboro

Moving to Tallahassee from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Tallahassee

10 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Tallahassee with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Tallahassee closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3230451,673$32,348$150,90045
3230349,785$62,275$228,00055
3230933,544$113,412$376,00066
3231232,216$123,032$432,100—
3230132,017$50,942$226,700—
3230824,406$77,967$328,000—
3231121,905$81,243$321,600—
3230519,384$48,045$156,300—
3231014,888$38,288$132,200—
3231714,654$128,690$369,800—