The population of Southwest Florida is dominated by retirees. People age 65 and older comprise 27% of the total population, and retirement incomes are the greatest single component of the Region’s economic base. Tourism is the next largest component of the economy – the population swells by as much as 30% each winter! Agriculture is the third largest economic component, thanks to a climate that allows for three growing seasons (winter, spring and fall) each year. Concurrent with the rise in population and its growing popularity as a tourist destination, the Region’s rural (non-urban) counties have emerged as a principal growth center for the State’s sizeable agricultural community.

Natural resources in Southwest Florida have had a major influence on the area’s economic development and growth. The most important of these resources are the Region’s location and climate, land and water resources, vegetation and wildlife, and inland and tidal wetlands. These resources have attracted the large number of retirees and tourists to the region, thereby fueling the area’s service, trade, and construction industries.