Within a 100-mile radius, there is a resident population of 8.5 million people.

Hillsborough County's population topped 1,132,152 in 2005.

Two International Airports within an hour's drive

Located on Interstat 4 in the middle of Florida's High Tech Corridor

Less than an hour's drive to professional baseball, basketball, hockey and football.

Plant City Economic Development Council

The EDC's Business Retention and Recruitment Programs include compiling and providing demographic packages and industrial lists, providing problem solving assistance, interacting with various government officials and agencies, and monitoring the corporate business climate. Additionally, the Business Recruitment Program includes working with the Tampa Bay Partnership in its industry and business location program and coordinating similar efforts with Enterprise Florida. The program also assists new corporate location through the review process, financial arrangements, government incentives, and workforce preparedness and infrastructure issues.

Plant City Community

Blessed with abundant natural resources and rich farmlands, Plant City provides a wealth of opportunity. From the towered factories of the phosphate industry to verdant citrus groves, from the steady hum of goods in transport to broad fields with row upon row of berries soaking up the temperate Florida sun, Plant City is a place for growing.

At the hub of eastern Hillsborough County, Plant City lies 10 miles west of Lakeland and 24 miles east of the protected waters of Tampa Bay. Entering Plant City from Interstate 4 or from U.S. Highway 92, streets canopied with ancient oaks embrace and welcome you to a city that wears its past proudly.

Strangers are greeted as friends as they walk the brick paved streets of our town. The old is not thrown away but celebrated in Plant City. An old office building becomes international headquarters for the Paso Fino Horse Association; an old railroad station turns to exhibiting and teaching Plant City history. But this is no small town trying to revive its past. Plant City is about today and tomorrow!

The area surrounding Plant City is a patchwork quilt of pasturelands and citrus groves, strawberry fields and nursery farms. This agricultural fabric is laced together by an infrastructure of highways and railroads that move the fruits of labor to markets all over the world. Plant City's high standard of living comes from this land. Mining and agriculture and the businesses that support these industries remain the foothold of the local economy, after 120 years.

Plant City comfortably blends the past and present in her quiet neighborhoods. Historic dwellings near the center of town and the new lifestyle development at Walden Lake are complimentary in nature. Picturesque turn of the century architecture in the historic district contrasts with modern golf course villas and single-family homes in new developments. Tree-canopied streets in the older parts of town give way to broad fairways in the newer Walden Lake development. Despite expansion, Plant City remains a close-knit community with a high quality of living.

Art, theater, history - all are alive and thriving here. Each month, the Arts Council exhibits the works of local artists at the Chamber. In addition, the Council sponsors a Children's Fun Festival, creative painting demonstrations, musical performances, and an annual chili cook-off. Scholarships are given to young people pursuing degrees in the arts. Plant City Entertainment stages regular productions of Broadway plays and musicals. The East Hillsborough Art Guild hosts an Art Show at the Florida Strawberry Festival®. The Guild also sponsors scholarships to encourage our youth to consider art as a career. The Henry B. Plant Railroad Historical Society maintains a railroad museum at the 1914 Plant City High School (PCHS) Community Center. The East Hillsborough Historical Society maintains a museum and Archive Center in the 1914 PCHS Community Center and sponsors Pioneer Day in October, which features day-long entertainment, food, exhibits, and arts and crafts. Additionally, the Society frequently schedules tours of homes in the historic district.

As part of its diverse culture, the City of Plant City hosts the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cultural Arts Festival, a five-day event held in January. For over 20 years, this festival, rich in tradition, has promoted the contributions of African and Hispanic cultures in the areas of art, dance, music, and other fine arts. Residents and visitors alike enjoy a statewide middle school and high school step team competition, a carnival, midway, concerts, and a Leadership Breakfast.

The diversity of Plant City businesses today provides the basis for the 21st century. Manufacturing rivals mining in its contribution to the economy. Processing adds value to the food produced on local farms and ranches. Ornamental foliage plants now rival strawberries as the largest crop, and aquaculture is a major contributor to the area's economy. Opportunity seems to have no limits as the city progresses.

Long a shipping center for locally produced farm and mineral goods, Plant City is also a major distribution center for paper, fertilizer, and produce as well as other food products. The ideal location to the deep-water port at Tampa, Interstate Highways I-4 and I-75, and the CSX railroad contribute to our economic base. Industrial parks and manufacturers are choosing Plant City as a place to relocate, in part, because of the advantageous transportation infrastructure and proximity to other growing population centers in the state. Over 60 trucking firms serve local industry, and three truck terminals are located here.

Plant City's airport has a paved runway, 3,950 x 75' with beacon, lighted windsock, and pilot instrument approach. The airport has 36 T-hangars, 10 shade hangars, 2 bulk-storage hangars, and 49 tie down spaces.

No state income tax.

Corporate income tax of just 5.5% with the first $5,000 exempt.

No business inventory tax.

State sales tax exemptions on energy consumption for manufacturing meeting state guidelines.

Enterprise zones are targeted for economic revitalization. Tax savings are offered to businesses that invest in zones, or who employ zone residents and other targeted employees.

For businesses that import or export, operation in one of Tampa's foreign trade zones can cut costs and increase profit margins.

Employment facts & trends

Tampa Bay's principal industries are trade, manufacturing and services.

More than 900 manufacturing firms are located in Hillsborough County.

60% of workers are in the white collar sector; 20% are in service occupations and 20% are in blue collar sectors.

Hillsborough County's service sector is expected to increase by 50% by the year 2005.