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Business Florida 2016 - The Regions
Northwest Florida
Northwest Florida’s appealing mix of natural springs, sugar white beaches, abundant pine forests and towns with tongue-twisting names like Apalachicola, Miccosukee, Wacissa and Sopchoppy have long made Northwest Florida a popular vacation destination. Here, where tourism thrives, companies looking to relocate will find an energetic workforce as well as certified properties ready for development and easy access to key southeastern markets and the world at large via interconnected highways, rail lines and three deep water ports.
Primary industry sectors across these 16 counties include aviation/defense, technology, logistics and manufacturing. And coming on strong: cybersecurity. The Department of Defense’s Center for Information Dominance (CID) at Corry Station, NAS Pensacola, is seen as a major catalyst for private-sector growth in this burgeoning field, and as a result, the University of West Florida launched its Center for Cybersecurity in 2014. Now headed by the CID’s former commanding officer, retired Navy Captain Susan Cerovsky, UWF’s Center offers bachelors and masters degrees in cybersecurity and certificates in cybersecurity, intelligence analysis and information security management.
WHO LIVES HERE
Active and retired military assets
Nearly 44,000 highly trained military personnel are on active duty at six Air Force and Navy installations across Northwest Florida. And of the approximately 6,000 who retire from military service here each year — average age early 40s — many choose to remain in the region and pursue second careers, bringing to area employers the advanced technical skills they acquired while in military service.
Highly educated
Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee, home to two public universities — Florida State and Florida A&M — boasts some of the state’s best-educated people. U.S. census figures show that 47% of Tallahassee residents age 25-plus have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to the U.S. average of 29%. In 2014, Tallahassee ranked No. 12 on WalletHub’s “Most Educated Cities” based on education level and quality of education.
Growing jobs
The Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent MSA ranked 23rd among 93 U.S. mid-sized cities cited by newgeography.com as “2015 Best Cities for Job Growth.” In 2014, this metro area added nearly 4,000 jobs, more than any other in Florida’s Northwest. Unemployment declined from 6.3% to nearly 5.2% in 2014 compared to 5.6% across the U.S.
