# Walton County, Florida: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Freeport and DeFuniak Springs Local rules on data centers are on the record in Walton County. Construction employs 3,800, up 58.9% since 2019, and construction is 2.0 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Employers here counted 35,416 jobs in 2025, up 29.4% from 2019 (the 3rd fastest growth of 67 Florida counties). Walton County is home to Freeport, DeFuniak Springs and Paxton. Electrical contractors employ 409, up 65.6% since 2019 against up 16.3% statewide, at an average $59,821 a year. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers with no end date”. +29.4% total jobs since 2019, now 35,416 +65.6% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 409 74 MW of new generation planned here, solar leading ## Cities and towns in Walton County Walton County is home to Freeport, DeFuniak Springs and Paxton. Freeport7,543 residents DeFuniak Springs7,338 residents Paxton695 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Miramar Beach. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Walton County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Florida | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 75,899 | 93,288 | ▲ 22.9% | 38th of 67 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 27,374 | 35,416 | ▲ 29.4% | 3rd of 67 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,842 | $59,289 | ▲ 45.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,392 | 3,800 | ▲ 58.9% | 5th of 59 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 247 | 409 | ▲ 65.6% | — | | Data processing and hosting jobs (2019 → 2025) | 50 | 46 | ▼ 8.0% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.7% | 4.3% | ▲ 1.6pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 298 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 74 MW | 25% of today's fleet | 13th of 18 by size | 74 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Florida Power & Light Co (solar). 74 MW of it is already under construction or built. Unemployment was 4.3% in August 2026, against 2.7% in 2019. 93,288 people live here, up 22.9% since 2020. 298 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 298 MW of capacity, 100% of it solar. Florida Power & Light Co is the largest utility serving Walton County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.71¢/kWh in 2024. ## Who powers Walton County ### Utilities with service territory in Walton County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Florida Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 5,236,277 | 13.71¢ | 41% | | Choctawhatche Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 57,070 | 13.23¢ | 24% | | Gulf Coast Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 21,220 | 14.67¢ | 20% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Solar | 298 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Chautauqua Solar Energy Center | Florida Power & Light Co | Solar | 74 MW | 2023 | | Pecan Tree | Florida Power & Light Co | Solar | 74 MW | 2024 | | Swallowtail | Florida Power & Light Co | Solar | 74 MW | 2025 | | Wild Quail | Florida Power & Light Co | Solar | 74 MW | 2024 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Hardwood Hammock | Solar Photovoltaic | 74 MW | Under construction (≤50%) | 2027 | Florida Power & Light Co | ## The Walton County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 35,416 | $59,289 | 1.00 | | Construction | 3,800 | $64,402 | 2.03 | | Electrical contractors | 409 | $59,821 | 1.60 | | Data processing and hosting | 46 | $124,523 | 0.42 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Walton County ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | County moratorium on data centers with no end date | In force | 2026-01 | ## Walton County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Walton County, Bay County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Walton County | 93,288 | ▲ 29.4% | 298 MW | 74 MW | — | 1 | | Bay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/bay-county) | 204,479 | ▲ 11.5% | 961 MW | — | — | 1 | | Covington County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/covington-county) AL | 37,947 | ▲ 1.8% | 742 MW | — | — | — | | Geneva County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/geneva-county) AL | 27,554 | ▲ 9.4% | — | — | — | — | | Holmes County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/holmes-county) | 20,119 | ▲ 5.9% | — | — | — | 2 | | Okaloosa County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/okaloosa-county) | 221,810 | ▲ 4.3% | 328 MW | — | 1 | 1 | | Washington County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/washington-county) | 26,695 | ▲ 4.9% | 74 MW | — | — | 1 | ## More of Florida [All Florida countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida)[Okaloosa County221,810 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/okaloosa-county)[Bay County204,479 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/bay-county)[Washington County26,695 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/washington-county)[Holmes County20,119 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/holmes-county) ## Walton County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Walton County, Florida? 3 utilities have service territory in Walton County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Florida Power & Light Co, Choctawhatche Elec Coop, Inc, Gulf Coast Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Florida Power & Light Co, charged residential customers 13.71¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Walton County? 4 operating plants with 298 MW of capacity. The largest is Chautauqua Solar Energy Center (74 MW, solar). ### How much new power is planned in Walton County? 74 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 74 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Florida Power & Light Co. ### Are there data centers in Walton County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Walton County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Okaloosa County. ### Is Walton County adding jobs? Employers counted 35,416 jobs in 2025 against 27,374 in 2019 (+29.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 2,392 to 3,800. ### Does Walton County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Walton County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/florida/walton-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).