Leon County, Florida: County Guide

Leon County is Florida's capital county, created in 1824, and Tallahassee is both its county seat and the only incorporated city inside its borders.

The Territorial Legislature created Leon County on December 29, 1824 as the seventh county in Florida, from land originally part of Escambia and Jackson counties and later part of Gadsden County (City of Tallahassee planning history). The county was created with Tallahassee as its county seat and capital. The City of Tallahassee itself was established in 1825, after the legislature chose to put the capital of the new Florida Territory midway between St. Augustine and Pensacola.

The city planning history calls Leon County one of the most populous and prosperous counties in antebellum Florida, and lists the Tallahassee-St. Marks railroad, built in 1834, as reportedly the third oldest railroad in the United States (Tallahassee area history). That line linked Tallahassee to St. Marks 11 years before Florida became the 27th state in 1845.

Leon County was named for the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, and county government describes itself as Florida's Capital County, home to the legislative and executive offices and the State House and Senate chambers (About Leon County). Since November 12, 2002, Leon County has been governed by a Home Rule Charter.

Because Tallahassee is the only city, everything outside its limits is unincorporated Leon County. The county's statistics box puts 67 percent of residents within city limits and 33 percent in unincorporated Leon County. By Census measure, Leon County covers 668.428 square miles of land and 33.365 square miles of water (Census 2024 gazetteer), which together match the 702 square miles the county lists.

Leon County had about 297,542 residents in the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with a median age of just 32.0 (Census DP05 for Leon County).

The Census figures describe a young county: only 14.8 percent of Leon County residents were 65 or older in the same release. Median household income was $66,287, and the average Leon County commute was 21.1 minutes (Census DP03 for Leon County).

Leon County is close to evenly split between owners and renters. Of 122,597 occupied homes, 52.6 percent were owner occupied; Leon County had 137,793 housing units in all, owner-occupied homes had a median value of $301,800, and median gross rent was $1,291 (Census DP04 for Leon County).

One caution about county figures found online: the About Leon County statistics box still lists a population of 299,130 and a median age of 27 (About Leon County), numbers that do not match the current ACS release, so the Census table is the better reference for Leon County today.

Leon County is run by a seven-member Board of County Commissioners, chaired for 2025 to 2026 by Christian Caban of District 2, and by County Administrator Vincent Long, appointed by the board.

Five Leon County commissioners are elected from single districts and two at large, under a council-manager form of government in which the board appoints the County Administrator to oversee all county functions; Chapter 125 of the Florida Statutes sets the powers of both (About Leon County).

The current Leon County board lists Christian Caban (District 2) as 2025 to 2026 Chairman, David T. O'Keefe (District 5) as Vice Chairman, Bill Proctor (District 1), Rick Minor (District 3) and Brian Welch (District 4), with Carolyn D. Cummings and Nick Maddox in the two at-large seats (Leon County commissioners page). The commission office is on the 5th Floor at 301 S. Monroe Street in Tallahassee, phone (850) 606-5302, and the main Leon County Courthouse number at that address is 850-606-5300.

Vincent S. Long has served as Leon County Administrator since 2011, after joining Leon County Government in 1995 (Leon County Leading the Way). He took the job during the Great Recession, when local government revenue was declining.

Leon County property values come from Property Appraiser Akin Akinyemi at the Government Annex on Calhoun Street, tax and tag business goes to the Tax Collector at 850-606-4700, and voting runs through Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley on Apalachee Parkway.

The Leon County Property Appraiser works from the Leon County Government Annex, 315 S Calhoun St, Third Floor, Tallahassee, open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., phone (850) 606-6200 (Leon County Property Appraiser). The office reported 112,526 total parcels in its summary statistics and mails Truth in Millage notices each August.

The Leon County Tax Collector answers at 850-606-4700 and keeps public office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, excluding holidays (Leon County Tax Collector). Driver road tests are given at the Southside office, 3477 S. Monroe St., and no written exams are given after 4:00 p.m.

Supervisor of Elections Mark S. Earley runs the Leon County elections office at 2990-1 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., phone (850) 606-8683 (Leon County Supervisor of Elections). The office has posted an election guide for the November 3 general election with a generic sample ballot of every Leon County race, and its online voter information lookup shows each voter's own sample ballot.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Leon County website and the Leon County Supervisor of Elections website.

Leon County storm resources sit on the county's Emergency Information Portal at LeonCountyFL.gov/ei, which now carries the county's Hurricane Isaias notices along with sandbag and shelter listings.

The portal's alert list includes a Hurricane Isaias Community Brief on damage assessment and recovery, the Leon County Property Damage Form for Hurricane Isaias, and the notice that Leon County declared a local state of emergency as Isaias approached (Leon County Emergency Information Portal). The same list carries a DOH-Leon mosquito-borne illness advisory and a Voluntary Water Shortage Warning Order.

The Leon County Emergency Information Portal lists sandbag locations, shelter locations, road obstructions, power outage links and the Disaster Survival Guide, and its news alert line is (850) 606-3700 (Leon County Emergency Information Portal).

Flood insurance in Leon County carries a Community Rating System class 5 rating from FEMA (community 120143), worth 25 percent off premiums inside the special flood hazard area and 10 percent outside it (FEMA NFIP status for Leon County). The currently effective flood map for Leon County (community 120143) dates to August 18, 2009, so the map behind a flood zone determination there is now more than 17 years old.

Leon County is covered by the Digital Towns Tallahassee guide, since Tallahassee is the only city in Leon County; the table pairs each common county question with a checked fact and the Tallahassee section that expands on it.

The Tallahassee guide also answers questions on schools, utilities, healthcare, parks, recreation, landmarks, places, events, sports, industries and the economy, using Leon County and City of Tallahassee sources.