Leon County, Florida

Leon County is a located in the  of. In 2000, its population was 239,452. The 2005 estimate for the county is 245,756. The principal place in Leon County is, the and. The county is home to two of Florida's major public universities, and. Leon County residents hold the distinction as having the highest level of education of those in any of Florida's 67 counties.

History
Originally part of and later, Leon County was created in. It was named for, the  who was the first an to reach Florida. During the -, Leon County was a "cotton kingdom" and ranked 5th out of all of  and  counties in the production of cotton from the 20 major plantations.
 * Also see .

Physical
Unlike much of Florida, Leon County has rolling hills. The highest point is 280 feet located in the north part of the county. According to the, the county has a total area of 1,818 (702 ). 1,727 km² (667 sq mi) of it is land and 91 km² (35 sq mi) of it (4.99%) is water.

Leon County is part of the.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-10.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 27.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 90.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 319.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Florida 20.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Florida 61.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Florida 155.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Florida 263.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Florida 267.svg|25px]]

Race
As of the of 2000, there were 239,452 people, 96,521 households, and 54,341 families residing in the county. The was 139/km² (359/sq mi). There were 103,974 housing units at an average density of 60/km² (156/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 66.36%, 29.11% or , 0.29% , 1.91% , 0.04% , 0.78% from , and 1.52% from two or more races. 3.51% of the population were or  of any race.

Age
There were 96,521 households out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.80% were living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.70% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.30% under the age of 18, 21.40% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 91.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males.

Education
The adult citizens of Leon County enjoy the highest level of education in the state of Florida followed by with a total of 67.8%.

Income
The median income for a household in the county was $37,517, and the median income for a family was $52,962. Males had a median income of $35,235 versus $28,110 for females. The for the county was $21,024. About 9.40% of families and 18.20% of the population were below the, including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

Accolades

 * 2007 National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials' Environmental and Conservation Award for exceptional effort to reclaim, restore, preserve, acquire or develop unique and natural areas. Leon County has 1,300 acres of open space, and s between the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway and J.R. Alford Greenway.

Voting trends
Leon County is a traditional and has voted  consistently. It has voted throughout its history. As of April 2007 there were 85,343 Democrats and 42,230 Republicans in Leon County. Other affilations accounted for 22,284 voters.

In the, Leon County strongly supported  with 83,830 votes to  ( 51,594 votes.  (Ref) received 476 votes.

In the, Leon County strongly supported  with 61,427 votes to   39,062. Ralph Nader (I) received 1,932 votes.

County representation

 * Map of County Commission Districts

Consolidation with Tallahassee
Voters of Leon County have gone to the four times to vote on  of Tallahassee and Leon County governments into one jurisdiction combining police and other city services with already shared (consolidated) Tallahassee Fire Department and Leon County Emergency Medical Services. Tallahassee's city limits would (at current size) increase from 98.2 square miles to 702 square miles. Roughly 36 percent of Leon County's 250,000 residents live outside the Tallahassee city limits. The proponents of consolidation have stated that the new jurisdiction would attract business by its very size. Merging of governments would cut government waste, duplication of services, etc. However Professor Richard Feiock states that no discernible relationship exists between consolidation and the local economy.

U.S. Congressional representatives
map represents roughly 90% of Leon County while ( map represents about 10%.

State Representatives
Rep. , District 9, represents the northern half of Leon County including most of Tallahassee. Rep. Marti Coley (, District 7, represents the southern portion of the county.

Incorporated

 * City of

Unincorporated

 * Black Creek - Identified on USGS maps as a small enclave of 5 or 6 houses along Mahan Drive, just north of Black Creek, the waterway.
 * Baum - Identified on USGS maps as the structures in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Mahan Drive and Baum Road.
 * Chaires Crossroads - Identified on USGS maps as the structures in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Chaires Cross Road and Apalachee Parkway. Historically a part of the.
 * Gardner - Identified on USGS maps as the structures in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Mahan Road and Crump Road, including Miles Johnson Road.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Chaires Crossroads - Identified on USGS maps as the structures in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Chaires Cross Road and Apalachee Parkway. Historically a part of the.
 * Gardner - Identified on USGS maps as the structures in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Mahan Road and Crump Road, including Miles Johnson Road.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.
 * Rose - Identified on USGS maps as the intersection of several dirt roads and the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline just east of Old Plank Road, south of Tram Road, north of Natural Bridge Road. There are no structures or inhabitants in this area.

Public safety
The law enforcement agency charged with countywide policing is the. Fire and Emergency medical services provided by the and  respectively.

Schools
Public schools in Leon County are administered and under the operation of the Leon County School District. LCS is operated by a superintendent, 5 board members, and 1 Student Representative. There are:
 * 24 Elementary Schools
 * 8 Middle Schools
 * 6 High Schools
 * 8 Special / Alternative Schools
 * 2 Charter Schools

High Schools
Top 1000 Schools for 2006 lists 4 of Leon County's 5 public high schools in the top 200 in the United States out of over 10,000 schools.
 * - website
 * Newsweek ranking: # 220
 * - website
 * Newsweek ranking # 266
 * Newsweek ranking: # 229
 * Newsweek ranking: # 79
 * - website
 * - website
 * - website
 * - website
 * - website

Points of Interest

 * Leon County's 5 canopy roads
 * Leon County's 5 canopy roads

Geology
Leon County has 3 defining geologic periods. They are and  of the  and the  which includes the  and.

Government links/Constitutional offices

 * Leon County Government / Board of County Commissioners
 * Leon County Property Appraiser
 * Leon County Sheriff's Office
 * Leon County Supervisor of Elections
 * Leon County Tax Collector

Special districts

 * Leon County Public Schools
 * The Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District
 * Northwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

 * Leon County Clerk of Courts
 * Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida serving, , , Leon, , and counties
 * Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
 * Circuit and County Court, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

 * Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitors Bureau