WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — Wakulla County's economy is growing alongside its population, and local business owners and economic development leaders say the momentum is building.
According to the Wakulla County Economic Development Council's website, the county's population grew by about 4,000 people between 2020 and 2024. The EDC reports that in 2024, Wakulla County had over 1,300 businesses, with top employers in education, retail, other services such as repair and personal care, and health care and social services. Of those businesses, 6,872 Wakulla County residents are employed by them, out of a workforce of over 18,000.
Julie Dennis, Economic Development Coordinator with the EDC, said the county is holding steady even as other parts of the country slow down.
"The economy in Wakulla County is doing really, really well. So you know where you see slowdown, maybe happening across the nation. We still have our residential permits coming in at a good clip of about 500 a year. And what that means is that there are new residents coming in to support this, new small businesses in our community that are that are opening up," Dennis said.
Dennis said those new residential permits signal more people moving in to support local businesses throughout the county.
The EDC is also focused on keeping Wakulla County's workforce closer to home. Currently, many residents commute to Tallahassee for work each day.
"The reason this is such a priority for us is that we export one of our biggest resources, and that's our talent. So in Wakulla County, our workforce drives to Tallahassee every day. We have a wonderful community. It's beautiful down here. We love to live, work, and play down here, and we want to give people opportunities to work down here as well," Dennis said.
One of the EDC's long-term goals to address that is working with Point Blank Enterprises to break ground on a new facility in Opportunity Park. Once the project is complete, it is expected to bring at least 300 new jobs to the area.
Local business owners say the population growth is already making a difference. Nancie Weldy, Owner of Lunar Bay Coffee Company, said more residents mean more opportunities for small businesses to give back to the community.
"So, when you have more people, you have more events, you have more fundraisers, you have things that you can help with, right? So you know, the schools and even the small fundraisers for 4H or the Cub Scouts, things like that, we can help with that. And, you know, we try to get out there and do as much as we can, you know, we let people hang stuff in here. We even have people who do their own crafts, and we let them display it in here, all local. So I think that's good," Weldy said.
Weldy encourages residents to support local businesses, saying that small businesses like hers give the community a small-town feel — and that supporting them helps the broader local economy grow.
"It's important because it keeps us thriving as a small community here, I think that even the small businesses we're able to give things that the big corporations can't necessarily give, you know, like the sense of community and having people come in and talk to each other and have that small town feel," explained Weldy.
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