City profile · Florida · Census ACS 2023

Tallahassee, FL

Tallahassee's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

199,696
Residents
$55,931
Median income
$276,000
Median home
$1,526
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Tallahassee.

Place dossier plate

Sheet FL-TALLAHASSEE-FL · Tallahassee, FL 199,696 pop · income 29th pct · 79 tracts

POP-MID · INC-MID · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-WIDE

  • POP-MID 199,696
  • INC-MID $55,931
  • COL-PAR 103.4
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-LOWER 29th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hazelwood
  • HOME-MID $276,000
  • BOOK-WIDE 79 tracts

Nearest income peer: Hazelwood, MO ( $1 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Tallahassee

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Tallahassee on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Tallahassee on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 199,696.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $55,931. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Tallahassee - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Tallahassee lands in the 29th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

29th
percentile, household income
61st
percentile, home value
73rd
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Tallahassee, FL

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 199,696 residents in Tallahassee, a mid-sized U.S. city within Florida. Median household income here is $55,931 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.5%. Home values in Tallahassee run a median of $276,000, and the median resident age is 28.0 years. 51.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

In 2024, 1,460 residential building permits were authorized in Tallahassee (Slowing), down 13% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 68.4°F with 58.8 inches of precipitation per year.

Florida carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 103.4 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,526 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Florida's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 75.7 out of 100 (High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Tallahassee's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to schools and households to population change to work and mobility to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Tallahassee, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

Question 1

How far does income reach against housing in Tallahassee?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 2

What does the education layer cover for Tallahassee?

The NCES join finds 54 public schools within the city match. 51.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

See how the family ranking is built →

3. Within-city variation

What can 79 Census tracts reveal inside Tallahassee?

That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.

PlainCities matches 79 Census tracts to this city.

Explore Tallahassee's tract profiles →

Question 4

Which cities make useful reference points for Tallahassee?

Within Florida, the closest population matches are Cape Coral (206,387 residents, $76,062 income); Fort Lauderdale (183,032 residents, $79,935 income); Port St. Lucie (220,453 residents, $78,137 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Birmingham, AL (199,322 residents); Sunrise Manor, NV (199,099 residents); Grand Prairie, TX (198,564 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Other supported questions

Why these stay compact

These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.

Population change

Is Tallahassee growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.

Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +6,983 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1,460 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

Period change
+3.5%
2025 estimate
204,902
2020 estimate
197,919

Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.

See the national growth ranking →

Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Tallahassee?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Public transit
2.2%
Work from home
12.3%
Drive alone
72.3%

City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 103,337 workers age 16+.

Compare commute patterns →

Climate and hazard context

What physical conditions frame life in Tallahassee?

NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 68.4°F, with 58.8 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Florida is 75.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.

The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.

Mean temperature
68.4°F
Annual precipitation
58.8 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
75.7

NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.

Read the source boundaries →

Population

199,696 residents

Mid-size city (50k–199k)

Median Household Income

$55,931 /yr

Below median income · poverty 11.5% (Above-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

103.4 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Florida average

City profile score · Tallahassee, FL

40/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bachelor's+ share A
51.1%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Poverty rate F
11.5%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Household income F
$55,931

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Cost of living F
103.4 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Tallahassee profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate, Household income, Cost of living. Bachelor's+ sharePoverty rateHousehold incomeCost of living 40 D
Tallahassee profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 85/100 (A) · 51.1%
  • Poverty rate: 34/100 (F) · 11.5%
  • Household income: 29/100 (F) · $55,931
  • Cost of living: 25/100 (F) · 103.4 index

How does Tallahassee compare to other US cities?

Where Tallahassee sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 29% higher than other cities
Home value 61% pricier than other cities
Median rent 73% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Tallahassee against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Florida only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Florida-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Tallahassee near the bottom of Florida's cities

Among the 930 Florida cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Tallahassee ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Tallahassee only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#653 of 903
28th percentile in Florida
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 930
0th percentile in Florida
Median Home Value
#499 of 894
44th percentile in Florida
Poverty Rate
#298 of 930
68th percentile in Florida
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#127 of 930
86th percentile in Florida
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Florida only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

29thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

29th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Tallahassee's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$276,000 39th percentile more affordable than 39% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). This entry sits in this band. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Tallahassee $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Tallahassee's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.9×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,779 of 15,516
More affordable than 18% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#450 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)

At 4.9×, Tallahassee sits in the moderate band: national rank #12,779 of 15,516 and #450 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999). Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$55,931 Tallahassee, FL median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Tallahassee, FL Tallahassee, FL's median household income ($55,931) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Tallahassee, FL-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Tallahassee, FL median $55,931/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Tallahassee, FL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Tallahassee, FL.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 51.1%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 11.5%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 62.0%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
199,696
Median Income
$55,931
Median Home Value
$276,000
Median Age
28.0
Poverty Rate
11.5%
Labor force participation
62.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
51.1%

Climate

Avg Temperature
68.4°F
Annual Precipitation
58.8"
Annual Snowfall
N/A

Schools

Total Schools
54
Public schools in this city

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
195,000 residents200,000 residents205,000 residents210,000 residents 202020212022202320242025 197,919 residents 204,902 residents ▲ +3.5%
Tallahassee's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 197,919 residents
2021 200,283 residents
2022 202,205 residents
2023 203,267 residents
2024 204,025 residents
2025 204,902 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
1,460
housing units authorized
Single-Family
463
detached homes
Multifamily
997
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
7.3
permits per 1,000 residents

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 1,682
2020 1,580
2021 1,853
2022 2,049
2023 1,698
2024 1,460

Permit volume decreased 13% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
72.3%
Carpool
8.5%
Public Transit
2.2%
Walk
3.0%
Work from Home
12.3%
Other
1.7%

Based on 103,337 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Florida statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Florida at $225 (electricity about $145 , water and sewer about $55 ).

These are Florida statewide averages, not a meter reading for Tallahassee. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Florida's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.4 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Tallahassee is $1,526/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Florida statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 75.7 / 100 (High).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Florida statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Tallahassee sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Tallahassee compares to similar-size Florida cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Tallahassee (this city) 199,696 $55,931
Cape Coral 206,387 $76,062
Fort Lauderdale 183,032 $79,935
Port St. Lucie 220,453 $78,137
NOAA Normals NCES CCD Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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