Sumter County, Florida

• Aging population: Median age of 68 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 7,492 workers (24.1% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $67,003.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $7.6B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $120,024 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $31,278, a 3.8x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction concentrates at 3.94x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
• Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 5.0x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 87.6% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 16.4% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,913/mo).

• Succession risk is real: 39.5% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 26% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 56,676 annual credentials.

Sumter County shows meaningful potential for heavy and civil engineering construction attraction, with a 3.94x concentration and 1,256 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 39.5% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across heavy and civil engineering construction, utilities, and wood product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.