Hardee County

County Business Patterns, 2023Outside any metro or micro areaPopulation 25,944

Hardee County had 4,829 private jobs in 436 establishments in March 2023, paying $45,142 on average, 25% below the Florida figure. Pay in real estate and rental averages $75,496 a year here, more than in any other county with at least 100 jobs in it. Jobs in utilities make up 3.2% of all local jobs, the highest share of the 37 counties with at least 100 such jobs and 8.6 times the 67-county share.

With 4,829 jobs, a few employers can move these averages a lot.

Compare Hardee side by side with Polk or another county.

The largest industry, health care and social assistance, has 16% of Hardee County's jobs. Among its larger industries, pay runs from $17,550 a year in hotels and restaurants to $108,631 in utilities.

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

What stands out in Hardee County

Jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation make up 9.2% of all local jobs, the highest share of the 43 counties with at least 100 such jobs and 3.1 times the 67-county share.
January to March accounts for 26.6% of the year's payroll, the 2nd-highest first-quarter share in the state.
Jobs in wholesale trade make up 7.2% of all local jobs, the 3rd-highest share of the 52 counties with at least 100 such jobs and 1.6 times the 67-county share.
Jobs rose 4.7% since 2019 even as the population fell 3.7%.
Its population fell 3.7% between 2019 and 2023, the 6th-steepest decline of the 67 counties.

Where Hardee County ranks

The four measures on which Hardee County sits furthest from the middle county. It is furthest out on job growth since 2019, where it ranks 55th of 67.

Jobs4,829

50thof 67

Business establishments436

53rdof 67

Businesses per 1,000 residents16.8

50thof 67

Job growth since 2019+4.7%

55thof 67

HardeeOther countiesMiddle county

Every industry, line by line

17 industries published; arts, entertainment and recreation added the most jobs since 2019 (396), hotels and restaurants lost the most (380).

Industry	Jobs	Avg pay	Pay vs same industry statewide	Jobs since 2019
Health care & social assistance	762	$48,010	0.75×	−25.7%
Retail trade	750	$29,371	0.78×	+8.4%
Hotels & restaurants	480	$17,550	0.62×	−44.2%
Arts & recreation	442	$42,624	0.99×	+860.9%
Wholesale trade	346	$29,092	0.37×	+73.9%
Construction	321	$50,766	0.79×	+31.6%
Finance & insurance	300	$66,917	0.63×	+14.5%
Manufacturing	263	$66,327	0.97×	−27.8%
Administrative & support services	166	$34,331	0.59×	+41.9%
Utilities	157	$108,631	0.87×	+5.4%
Other services	150	$26,147	0.66×	+18.1%
Professional & technical services	142	$44,746	0.50×	+77.5%
Real estate & rental	139	$75,496	1.23×	+239.0%
Transportation & warehousing	99	$56,364	0.93×	+200.0%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	74	$40,514	0.91×	−20.4%
Information	41	$31,073	0.30×	+5.1%
Educational services	31	$19,903	0.41×	−36.7%
All industries	4,829	$45,142	0.75×	+4.7%

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

What sets Hardee County apart

Jobs in agriculture, forestry and fishing are 16.1 times as common here as across the 67 counties; professional, scientific and technical services is the most under-represented, at 0.40×.

Business sizes

88.3% have fewer than 20 employees; 6 have 100 or more.

EmployeesEstablishments

1–4239

5–990

10–1956

20–4937

50–997

100–2496

250–499withheld

500–999withheld

1,000+withheld

Since 2019

Jobs +4.7%, residents −3.7% since March 2019.

Jobs4,8292019: 4,614+4.7%

Business establishments4362019: 400+9.0%

Average pay (nominal)$45,1422019: $36,733+22.9%

Residents25,9442019: 26,937−3.7%

Share of Florida

Fewer of Florida's jobs (0.06%) than of its residents (0.11%).

Residents0.11%

Businesses0.07%

Jobs0.06%

Payroll0.05%

Source: Census CBP 2023, 2022, 2019; Population Estimates. FIPS 12049. How to read County Business Patterns figures.