March 28, 2024

community portrait

Daytona Beach & Volusia County

More than just gathering data, we're trying to capture elements that make each community distinctive.

Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach [Photo: iStock]

A sense of Volusia County’s personality depends on which part of it you happen to be in. Daytona Beach is a mix, in a small package, of go-go NASCAR and other motorsports along with high-octane beach tourism and an expanding dollop of upper-end arts and cultural offerings. A few miles up the coast, Ormond Beach, a former winter home to Rockefeller-types, is an old-style beach town that likes its leisure quiet and serene. Toward the west, Deltona is a classic Florida mega-subdivision, a haven for suburban families. Nearby DeLand is quaint, with shady streets and a historic, college-town feel. Elsewhere throughout the county are sprinkled a raft of small towns, each with its own identity, from Lake Helen and its spiritualist community of Cassadaga to business-friendly Port Orange. Volusia encompasses a host of state parks and natural areas, both on the beach and inland by the St. Johns River.

Halifax River
Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach Pier
Daytona Beach Pier
Traditionally, Volusia’s tourism-dominated economy has lagged other parts of the state in some economic measures, including wage rates and higher-skill employment. But the county’s economy is diversified, with a solid manufacturing base — more than 30% of the manufacturing workforce is involved in medical product manufacturing; other manufacturing businesses range from producers of automotive equipment to boat builders and defense contractors. Overall, nearly two in five workers are employed in health-related businesses or education (there are five universities in the county, including world-class aerospace school Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University). The agricultural sector is strong as well — the tiny town of Pierson bills itself as “Fern Capital of the World.” And the county is home to the Brown & Brown insurance brokerage firm, No. 48 on Florida Trend’s list of the 150 biggest publicly traded companies in Florida and the sixth-largest such firm in the U.S.



DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts
DeLand's fall arts festival attracts 50,000 people.
The county’s leadership, particularly in Daytona Beach, has shown determination in working to upgrade the tourism infrastructure and the county’s “creative class”-type amenities. The Ocean Walk Village complex, including hotels, shops and the Ocean Center convention and meeting center, has been a major improvement to the city’s oceanfront. Meanwhile, the Daytona Beach International Festival and Daytona State College have partnered to create a performing arts consortium to advance arts and cultural programs throughout the county. All of the major Daytona Beach performing arts venues will merge under one operating entity.

As it moves forward, the county faces major challenges, including maintaining economic progress while preserving the individual community identities that have given it its character.


A Community Portrait of Volusia County

Florida Business News

Florida News Releases

Florida Trend Video Pick

Structural technology keeps Skyway Bridge safe from mass destruction
Structural technology keeps Skyway Bridge safe from mass destruction

USF marine scientist Mark Luther, says dozens of concrete barriers protecting the bridge from collision is just the beginning of an ongoing effort to keep it safe.

 

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

Ballot Box

Should Congress ban the popular social media app TikTok in the U.S.?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Need more details
  • What is TikTok?
  • Other (Comment below)

See Results

Florida Trend Media Company
490 1st Ave S
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727.821.5800

© Copyright 2024 Trend Magazines Inc. All rights reserved.