Highlands County & Sebring, Florida

 County.........................Highlands
County Seat....................Sebring
Nearest Metropolitan Area......Lakeland-Winter Haven  
County Area      -  1,029 Square Miles

Largest Incorporated Municipalities (2003)
 

Sebring 9,667 (County Seat)
Avon Park 8,542
Lake Placid 1,668
Unincorporated - County 67,489

 

STATISTICS
Population State Taxes Accommodations & Facilities
Employment Finance Industrial Parks & Support Services
Economic Indicators Communications County Economic Development
County Taxes Churches Major Private Sector Employers

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Ambulance
Fire
Police		 UTILITIES
Electricity
Telephone
Water & Sewer		 LICENSES
Fishing & Hunting
Driver's License
Vehicle License Plates
GOVERNMENT
Automobile Tag Agency
Board of County Commissioners
County Health Department
Post Office
Property Appraiser
School Board
Social Security
Supervisor of Elections
Voter Registration		 TRANSPORTATION
Airport
Bus Lines
Rail Service
Taxi Service

 

 

 

POPULATION

County

1980...........47,500
1990...........68,500
1996...........79,600
1998...........81,276
2000...........87,500

Population Projections

2005..............95,812
2010.............104,301

Population Age Breakdown (2003)
  0-14...........15.6%
15-44...........29.2%
45-64...........22.2%
   65+...........33.0%

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EMPLOYMENT
County Civilian Labor Force (2003)......28,254
Unemployment Rate (2003).......................5.7%
Employment by Industry (2003)
 Services.........................................24.9%
Trade..............................................15.0%
Agricultural Services....................10.3%
Government...................................20.6%
Manufacturing..................................1.6%
Construction....................................7.1%
Finance/Insurance/Real Estate.....5.0%
Transportation & Public Utilities.....3.6%
Wholesale Trade.............................3.3%
Other................................................5.6%

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ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Building Permits                                                                            
    Total Value (2002)...............................................$71,564,550
Per Capita Personal Income (2002)..............................$20,505
Taxable Sales (2002).............................................$740,526,000

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COUNTY TAXES

Ad Valorem Millage Rate (2003)
Government...................................................8.5
Schools...............................................................8.694
Total..................................................................17+
Local Options Sales Tax (Infrastructure).........1.0%
Local Option Gasoline Tax...............................................$.09 per gallon
Tourist Tax........................................................2.0%

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STATE TAXES

Corporate Income Tax............................5.5%
Personal Income Tax..............................none
Retail Sales Tax......................................6.0%
Gasoline Tax.........................$.13 per gallon
Intangible Tax......1.5 mills per dollar of value

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FINANCE
Banks (2003)....................... 40 (including branches)
Credit Unions (2003).......... 1
Total Deposits..................... $1,836,200

Local government issues industrial revenue bonds

 

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COMMUNICATIONS

Newspapers
News-Sun.................................13,270Circulation
Highlands Today.......................22,126 Circulation
Tampa Tribune........................391,434 Circulation

Radio Stations
Cohan Radio Group
5 AM, 2 FM

Television
Non-Cable Channels........7
Cable Television..........Comcast

Mail/Parcel
Nearest Regional Mail Handling Facility.........Lakeland
Parcel Service.............................................................Yes
Air/Overnight Parcel Service......................................Yes

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CHURCHES

Catholic........................4
Jewish..........................1
Protestant................111
Other...........................12

 

 

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ACCOMMODATIONS & FACILITIES

Motels...................................24
Rooms Available...798
Hotels/Resorts.......................9
Rooms Available...574
Civic Auditoriums...................2
Seating Capacity..250/350
Regional Malls.........................1
Shopping Centers.................14
Libraries...................................4

 

 

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INDUSTRIAL PARKS & SUPPORT SERVICES

Number of Developed Parks.........................5
Developed Acreage................................3,095
Acreage Zoned for Manufacturing.........3,580

Industrial Support Services
Bonded Warehousing
Car & Truck Rental
Computer Services
Engineering
Freight Forwarder
Job Printing
Machine Shop
Security Services

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COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 385-0125

Foreign Trade Zone...................................Yes
Enterprise Zone..........................................Yes
Next Nearest Foreign Trade Zone.....Orlando

 

 

 

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MAJOR PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS

EMPLOYER

 PRODUCT/SERVICE TOTAL EMPLOYEES
Florida Hospitals - Heartland Division Health Care 1,100+
Wal-Mart Retail 485
Highlands Regional Hospital Health Care 450+
Cross Country Automotive Services 300
The Palms of Sebring   250
Lake Placid Hospital Health Care 200+
Alan Jay Automotive Auto Dealerships 200+
Lake Placid Growers, LLC Citrus Packing 165
Georgia Pacific Corrugated Boxes 150
Highlands Greenhouses   150
Home Depot   150
Lin Pac Plastics Packaging 129
Sprint Communications 113

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IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

EMERGENCY NUMBERS (County Wide)
All Emergencies (fire/police/rescue)............911

Ambulance (Area Code 863)
Sebring......................386-6630

Fire (Non-Emergency)
Avon Park..................453-6557
Lake Placid ..............699-3753
Sebring......................471-5105

Police (Non-Emergency)
Avon Park..................453-6622
Highway Patrol..........699-3773
Lake Placid ..............699-3757
Sebring......................471-5107
Sheriff........................402-7200
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GOVERNMENT (Area Code 863)

Automobile Tag Agency
Avon Park..................402-6685
Lake Placid ..............402-6685
Sebring......................402-6685

Board of County Commissioners..........402-6500


County Health Department
Lake Placid ..............465-2252
Sebring......................386-6040

Post Office
Avon Park...................453-0759
Lake Placid ...............465-2252
Sebring (Main)...........382-0576
Sebring (US 98).........655-1321
Venus..........................465-2631

Property Appraiser...................402-6659

School Board
Avon Park..................452-4300
Lake Placid ..............699-5000
Sebring......................471-5555

Social Security .........(800) 772-1213
Supervisor of Elections.....402-6655

Voter Registration
Avon Park..................453-7538
Lake Placid ..............465-2464
Sebring......................402-6655
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UTILITIES (Area Code 863)

Electricity

Progress Energy
Avon Park..................800-700-8744
Lake Placid ..............800-700-8744
Sebring......................800-700-8744

Glades Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Lake Placid....465-0231 or (800) 226-4025

Peace River
Electric Cooperative.............(800) 282-3824

Telephone
Sprint..............(800) 339-1811

Water & Sewer
City of Avon Park.............................................452-4429
City of Lake Placid...........................................699-3747
Placid Lakes Water Plant...............................465-2427
City of Sebring Public Works..........................471-5112
Sebring Country Estates Water Company....385-7137
Spring Lake Water Plant.................................655-1715
Sun 'N Lake of Sebring Water Dept...............382-1245
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LICENSES (Area Code 863)

Fishing & Hunting
Avon Park..................453-7538
Lake Placid ..............465-2464
Sebring......................402-6685

Driver's
Lake Placid ..............699-3769
Sebring......................386-6053

Vehicle Plates
Avon Park..................453-7538
Lake Placid ..............465-2464
Sebring......................402-6685
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TRANSPORTATION (Area Code 863)

Airports - Local
 Sebring Regional Airport...................................655-6444

Airports - Regional
Orlando International Airport.....................(407) 825-2001
Sarasota-Bradenton Airport.....................(941) 359-5227
Southwest Regional Airport (Ft. Myers)...(941) 768-1000
Tampa International Airport.......................(800) 767-8882

Bus Lines
Greyhound Bus Lines
Sebring......................385-7741 or (800)231-2222

Rail Service
Amtrak
Rail Passenger Service ..........385-7188 or (800) 872-7245

Other Local Transportation Services
 Annett Bus Lines - Charter..................655-6226
 Well's Airports Shuttle Service............471-6445
Taxicab Service (3) Independent
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