Holmes County

County Business Patterns, 2023Outside any metro or micro areaPopulation 19,662

Holmes County had 2,142 private jobs in 300 establishments in March 2023, paying $37,832 on average, 37% below the Florida figure and the 4th-lowest of the 67 counties. With 109 private jobs for every 1,000 residents, it has the 5th-lowest ratio in the state; many residents work in other counties, in government or for themselves, or are retired, and none of that is counted here. Pay in construction averages $37,465 a year here, the lowest of the 63 counties with at least 100 jobs in it.

With 2,142 jobs, a few employers can move these averages a lot.

Compare Holmes side by side with Highlands or another county.

The largest industry, health care and social assistance, has 27% of Holmes County's jobs. Among its larger industries, pay runs from $21,155 a year in hotels and restaurants to $45,403 in manufacturing.

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

What stands out in Holmes County

Private payroll works out at $4,121 per resident, the 3rd-lowest figure in Florida.
93.7% of its establishments have fewer than 20 employees, the 2nd-highest share among the 67 counties where size classes are published.
Businesses here are small: 7.1 employees per establishment, the 5th-lowest average in Florida.
None of its 6 industries with 100 or more jobs pays as much as the same industry does statewide.
Jobs grew 19.8% between March 2019 and March 2023, the 8th-fastest growth of any county.
Jobs in health care and social assistance are 1.7 times as common here as across the 67 counties, 26.9% of all local jobs.

Where Holmes County ranks

The four measures on which Holmes County sits furthest from the middle county. It is furthest out on payroll per resident, where it ranks 65th of 67.

Average annual pay$37,832

64thof 67

Jobs per 1,000 residents109

63rdof 67

Payroll per resident$4,121

65thof 67

Job growth since 2019+19.8%

8thof 67

HolmesOther countiesMiddle county

Every industry, line by line

14 industries published; retail trade added the most jobs since 2019 (99), administrative and support services lost the most (6).

Industry	Jobs	Avg pay	Pay vs same industry statewide	Jobs since 2019
Health care & social assistance	576	$42,045	0.65×	+6.3%
Retail trade	462	$30,626	0.81×	+27.3%
Hotels & restaurants	264	$21,155	0.74×	+10.5%
Construction	230	$37,465	0.58×	+18.6%
Manufacturing	159	$45,403	0.67×	+87.1%
Other services	142	$24,380	0.62×	+20.3%
Finance & insurance	56	$100,464	0.95×	+30.2%
Professional & technical services	56	$50,500	0.56×	+16.7%
Wholesale trade	40	$37,100	0.47×	+25.0%
Transportation & warehousing	24	$71,208	1.18×	+14.3%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	23	$42,696	0.95×	+43.8%
Administrative & support services	21	$53,190	0.91×	−22.2%
Educational services	20	$19,450	0.40×	n/a
Real estate & rental	14	$21,857	0.36×	−22.2%
All industries	2,142	$37,832	0.63×	+19.8%

Withheld by the Census Bureau: Mining & quarrying, Utilities, Information, Management of companies, Arts & recreation.

What sets Holmes County apart

Five industries are at least 1.25 times as common here as across the 67 counties; professional, scientific and technical services is the most under-represented, at 0.36×.

Business sizes

93.7% have fewer than 20 employees; 0 have 100 or more.

EmployeesEstablishments

1–4178

5–965

10–1938

20–4915

50–99withheld

100–249withheld

250–499withheld

500–999withheld

1,000+withheld

Since 2019

Jobs +19.8%, residents +0.2% since March 2019.

Jobs2,1422019: 1,788+19.8%

Business establishments3002019: 266+12.8%

Average pay (nominal)$37,8322019: $29,907+26.5%

Residents19,6622019: 19,617+0.2%

Share of Florida

Fewer of Florida's jobs (0.03%) than of its residents (0.09%).

Residents0.09%

Businesses0.05%

Jobs0.03%

Payroll0.02%

Source: Census CBP 2023, 2022, 2019; Population Estimates. FIPS 12059. How to read County Business Patterns figures.