Gulf County

County Business Patterns, 2023Outside any metro or micro areaPopulation 15,757

Gulf County had 2,779 private jobs in 405 establishments in March 2023, paying $40,034 on average, 33% below the Florida figure. Jobs grew 64.3% between March 2019 and March 2023, the fastest growth of any county. The number of business establishments grew 32.8% since 2019, the fastest rate among the 67 counties.

With 2,779 jobs, a few employers can move these averages a lot.

Compare Gulf side by side with Walton or another county.

The largest industry, hotels and restaurants, has 25% of Gulf County's jobs. Among its larger industries, pay runs from $22,500 a year in other services to $67,231 in professional, scientific and technical services.

Pays above the county averagePays below itNot shown by industryCounty averageFlorida average

What stands out in Gulf County

Total payroll rose 92.0% from 2019 in current dollars, the fastest increase in the state.
In the latest year alone, March 2022 to March 2023, jobs rose 11.0%, the 2nd-fastest in Florida.
Businesses here are small: 6.9 employees per establishment, the 3rd-lowest average in Florida.
Jobs in hotels and restaurants make up 24.7% of all local jobs, the 3rd-highest share of the 65 counties with at least 100 such jobs and 1.9 times the 67-county share.
None of its 7 industries with 100 or more jobs pays as much as the same industry does statewide.
Its population grew 15.5% between 2019 and 2023, the 5th-fastest growth of the 67 counties.

Where Gulf County ranks

The four measures on which Gulf County sits furthest from the middle county. It is furthest out on job growth since 2019, where it ranks 1st of 67.

Average annual pay$40,034

59thof 67

Jobs2,779

56thof 67

Business establishments405

55thof 67

Job growth since 2019+64.3%

1stof 67

GulfOther countiesMiddle county

Every industry, line by line

16 industries published; hotels and restaurants added the most jobs since 2019 (418), finance and insurance lost the most (24).

Industry	Jobs	Avg pay	Pay vs same industry statewide	Jobs since 2019
Hotels & restaurants	686	$24,101	0.84×	+156.0%
Retail trade	565	$32,088	0.85×	+87.1%
Health care & social assistance	404	$58,856	0.92×	+90.6%
Construction	313	$45,645	0.71×	+71.0%
Other services	168	$22,500	0.57×	+24.4%
Professional & technical services	160	$67,231	0.75×	+88.2%
Real estate & rental	103	$44,845	0.73×	+53.7%
Utilities	80	$81,238	0.65×	+9.6%
Finance & insurance	76	$56,276	0.53×	−24.0%
Information	42	$56,262	0.55×	−2.3%
Administrative & support services	38	$31,658	0.54×	−29.6%
Transportation & warehousing	37	$32,405	0.54×	+12.1%
Manufacturing	32	$35,812	0.53×	−38.5%
Wholesale trade	30	$27,233	0.34×	+36.4%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	22	$58,136	1.30×	−18.5%
Arts & recreation	12	$17,667	0.41×	−45.5%
All industries	2,779	$40,034	0.67×	+64.3%

Withheld by the Census Bureau: Mining & quarrying, Management of companies, Educational services.

What sets Gulf County apart

Jobs in utilities are 7.6 times as common here as across the 67 counties; finance and insurance is the most under-represented, at 0.53×.

Business sizes

90.6% have fewer than 20 employees; 0 have 100 or more.

EmployeesEstablishments

1–4234

5–987

10–1946

20–4933

50–994

100–249withheld

250–499withheld

500–999withheld

1,000+withheld

Since 2019

Jobs +64.3%, residents +15.5% since March 2019.

Jobs2,7792019: 1,691+64.3%

Business establishments4052019: 305+32.8%

Average pay (nominal)$40,0342019: $34,268+16.8%

Residents15,7572019: 13,639+15.5%

Share of Florida

Fewer of Florida's jobs (0.03%) than of its residents (0.07%).

Residents0.07%

Businesses0.06%

Jobs0.03%

Payroll0.02%

Source: Census CBP 2023, 2022, 2019; Population Estimates. FIPS 12045. How to read County Business Patterns figures.