Daily Outtakes: Florida Chamber touts rural counties

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The Florida Chamber Foundation released a research brief about economic growth in rural Florida, and the numbers are eye-opening. While Miami, Orlando and Tampa get all the press, rural Florida is quietly outperforming urban areas. Read The Rural Renaissance 2025.

Florida’s definition of rura county: A county with a population of 75,000 or less, or a county with a population of 125,000 or less that is contiguous to a county of 75,000 or less. See the list.

WHY THIS MATTERS: Senate President Ben Albritton has been pushing for what he calls a “rural renaissance.” Given the current trajectory, the Chamber wants to double rural Florida’s GDP contribution to 5.56% by 2030—an ambitious but not impossible goal.

SB 110, sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee), is packed with rural-focused initiatives:

$25 million for mobile health units and telehealth kiosks
$25 million in grants to help doctors and ARNPs start rural practices
Increased Medicaid payments to struggling rural hospitals
$15,000 in student loan repayment for rural teachers
$50 million annually for “farm to market” roads
At least $50 million yearly for “fiscally constrained counties”
$1 million block grants for each of eight counties with declining populations (Gadsden, Hardee, Taylor, Jackson, Calhoun, Liberty, Madison and Lafayette)
Total price tag: $197.4 million, plus redirected funds.

Albritton, a Wauchula Republican and citrus grower, told his fellow state senators the bill would “provide opportunities for rural communities to grow as they see fit, based on decisions made by local families and businesses who call rural Florida home.”

THE NUMBERS: Rural counties currently account for just 2.92% of Florida’s $1.6 trillion GDP, but they’ve seen 56.6% growth since 2018 compared to 49.1% in non-rural counties. Some standouts? Liberty County (166.7% growth), Okeechobee (129.7%), and Walton (83.8%)***.

When was the last time you heard anything about Liberty County? Exactly.

WHAT’S WORKING

The report highlights five areas driving this growth:

1. Infrastructure improvements (the state allocated $50M in rural infrastructure grants)
2. Manufacturing expansion (with average wages of $78,060)
3. Agricultural technology innovations
4. Broadband expansion (though still lagging at 84.4% coverage vs. 90.5% in urban areas)
5. Workforce development through the Florida College System

THE HOUSING ADVANTAGE: Here’s something interesting – rural counties like Hamilton, Jackson, and Washington have median home prices around $250,000, far below the state average of $435,000. No wonder remote workers are looking beyond Miami and Tampa, but will Gov. DeSantis and the Trump Administration allow workers to work remotely anymore?

IMPACT ON POLICY: We spend so much time focusing on the I-4 corridor and South Florida that we miss innovation in places like Hardee County, where 300 new businesses launched in 2023 alone. The Chamber says there are 15,241 unemployed Floridians in rural counties. Imagine what happens when these infrastructure investments connect them to the broader economy.

Rural Florida isn’t just farmland anymore. It’s becoming a viable alternative for businesses seeking affordable expansion and families looking for a more affordable Florida lifestyle. The question is whether state leaders will continue investing in these communities or return to the old pattern of focusing resources on vote-rich urban centers.

Photo by Jacksonville Beach Moms on Unsplash

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Daily Outtakes: Florida Chamber touts rural counties

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