Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area. As part of the broader Black Belt region within the Deep South, Gadsden County is the only majority African-American county in Florida.

Gadsden County was created in 1823. It was named for James Gadsden of South Carolina, who served as Andrew Jackson's aide-de-camp in Florida in 1818. Gadsden County is historically known for its tobacco crop which is obsolete today.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 529 square miles (1,370 km), of which 516 square miles (1,340 km) is land and 12 square miles (31 km) (2.3%) is water.

Gadsden County is part of the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gadsden County is in the Eastern Time Zone. Its western border with Jackson County forms the boundary in this area between the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

• Decatur County, Georgia - north
• Seminole County, Georgia - north
• Grady County, Georgia - northeast
• Leon County, Florida - east
• Liberty County, Florida - southwest
• Calhoun County, Florida - southwest (CST)
• Jackson County, Florida - northwest (CST)

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	4,895		—
1840	5,992		22.4%
1850	8,784		46.6%
1860	9,396		7.0%
1870	9,802		4.3%
1880	12,169		24.1%
1890	11,894		−2.3%
1900	15,294		28.6%
1910	22,198		45.1%
1920	23,539		6.0%
1930	29,890		27.0%
1940	31,450		5.2%
1950	36,457		15.9%
1960	41,989		15.2%
1970	39,184		−6.7%
1980	41,565		6.1%
1990	41,105		−1.1%
2000	45,087		9.7%
2010	46,389		2.9%
2020	43,826		−5.5%
2023 (est.)	43,833		0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Gadsden County, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	16,174	15,335	14,093	35.87%	33.06%	32.16%
Black or African American alone (NH)	25,632	25,881	23,326	56.85%	55.79%	53.22%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	87	93	71	0.19%	0.20%	0.16%
Asian alone (NH)	105	221	147	0.23%	0.48%	0.34%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	9	7	4	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	24	39	120	0.05%	0.08%	0.27%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	274	394	972	0.61%	0.85%	2.22%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,782	4,419	5,093	6.17%	9.53%	11.62%
Total	45,087	46,389	43,826	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

Gadsden County is unique in Florida in that it is the state's only county with an African American majority population.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 46,389 people living in the county. 56.0% were Black or African American, 35.9% White, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 5.9% of some other race and 1.3% of two or more races. 9.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the census of 2000, there were 45,087 people, 15,867 households, and 11,424 families living in the county. The population density was 87 inhabitants per square mile (34/km). There were 17,703 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km). The racial makeup of the county was 57.14% Black or African American, 38.70% White, 0.23% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.76% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 6.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,867 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.50% were married couples living together, 22.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.40% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,248, and the median income for a family was $36,238. Males had a median income of $27,159 versus $21,721 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,499. About 16.40% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.50% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

Rosenwald schools were established in Gadsden County.

The Gadsden County School District, the only school district, operates public schools.

Gadsden County is home to one public high school, Gadsden County High School (formerly East Gadsden High School), formed in 2017 by the merger of East Gadsden High and the high school portion of West Gadsden High School; the West Gadsden High building was converted to West Gadsden Middle. West Gadsden was formed by the merger of the former Chattahoochee High and Greensboro High and was located on the western outskirts of Quincy near Greensboro. East Gadsden, formed by the merger of James A. Shanks High and Havana Northside High, was located on Hwy. 90 east of Quincy.

Robert F. Munroe Day School and Tallavanna Christian School are private schools in the county that were founded as segregation academies.

The Gadsden County Public Library System has 3 branches.

• William A. McGill Library
• Havana Branch
• Chattahoochee Branch

Due to its majority-black population, Gadsden County is the most reliably Democratic county in Florida. In the 2022 gubernatorial election, it was one of only five counties in the state to vote for Democratic nominee Charlie Crist over incumbent Republican governor Ron DeSantis, and it was the only one to give Crist more than 60% of the vote. Similarly, in the 2024 presidential election it was the only county to give Kamala Harris over 60% of the vote, and one of only six counties won by Harris.

According to the secretary of state's office, Democrats maintain a massive majority of registered voters in Gadsden County. As of May 23, 2022, the county has the highest percentage of registered Democrats of all counties in Florida. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Richard Nixon in his landslide 1972 victory, and Gadsden was the solitary Florida county to vote against Reagan in 1984 and George Bush in 1988.

Gadsden County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of September 30, 2024
Political Party		Total Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	18,300	69.05%
	Republican	5,641	21.29%
	Independent	2,825	10.66%
	Third Parties	413	1.56%
Total		26,501	100.00%

United States presidential election results for Gadsden County, Florida

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	7,495	34.17%	14,203	64.76%	234	1.07%
2020	7,465	31.42%	16,153	67.98%	144	0.61%
2016	6,728	30.29%	15,020	67.62%	466	2.10%
2012	6,630	29.43%	15,770	70.01%	125	0.55%
2008	6,811	30.22%	15,582	69.14%	145	0.64%
2004	6,253	29.80%	14,629	69.72%	102	0.49%
2000	4,770	32.38%	9,736	66.09%	225	1.53%
1996	3,817	26.88%	9,407	66.25%	975	6.87%
1992	3,975	27.62%	8,486	58.96%	1,933	13.43%
1988	5,992	47.64%	6,372	50.66%	213	1.69%
1984	5,807	43.95%	7,403	56.03%	2	0.02%
1980	3,718	30.41%	8,222	67.26%	285	2.33%
1976	3,531	33.85%	6,798	65.17%	102	0.98%
1972	5,995	61.01%	3,829	38.97%	2	0.02%
1968	1,337	14.76%	3,274	36.15%	4,446	49.09%
1964	5,207	53.33%	4,556	46.67%	0	0.00%
1960	2,010	46.18%	2,343	53.82%	0	0.00%
1956	1,321	36.87%	2,262	63.13%	0	0.00%
1952	1,835	40.41%	2,706	59.59%	0	0.00%
1948	376	13.42%	1,427	50.93%	999	35.65%
1944	462	15.22%	2,574	84.78%	0	0.00%
1940	417	11.47%	3,218	88.53%	0	0.00%
1936	198	7.15%	2,572	92.85%	0	0.00%
1932	105	5.33%	1,865	94.67%	0	0.00%
1928	346	22.31%	1,184	76.34%	21	1.35%
1924	47	5.86%	681	84.91%	74	9.23%
1920	38	1.91%	1,922	96.68%	28	1.41%
1916	57	5.53%	875	84.95%	98	9.51%
1912	75	9.73%	609	78.99%	87	11.28%
1908	89	12.06%	563	76.29%	86	11.65%
1904	54	10.07%	471	87.87%	11	2.05%

Previous gubernatorial elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2022	37.36% 6,511	62.00% 10,805	0.64% 110
2018	30.91% 6,200	68.36% 13,712	0.72% 146
2014	27.27% 4,798	70.62% 12,425	2.11% 371
2010	25.90% 4,324	72.27% 12,067	1.83% 307
2006	32.45% 4,557	66.25% 9,303	1.29% 182
2002	25.83% 3,948	73.46% 11,228	0.71% 109
1998	35.66% 4,028	64.34% 7,269
1994	30.63% 3,422	69.37% 7,751

County commissioners

• Eric Hinson (District 1)
• Anthony Viegbesie, PhD (District 2)
• Kimblin NeSmith, J.D. (District 3)
• Brenda Holt (District 4)
• Ronterious Green (District 5)

Local elected officials

• Sheriff: Morris A. Young
• Supervisor of Elections: Shirley Green Knight
• Tax Collector: W. Dale Summerford
• Property Appraiser: Reginald Cunningham
• Superintendent of Schools: Elijah Key

• Quincy Municipal Airport

• Interstate 10 is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Gadsden County. It contains four interchanges within the county; CR 270A (Exit 166), SR 12 (Exit 174), SR 267 (Exit 181), and US 90 (Exit 192).
• US 90 was the main west-to-east highway in the county prior to the construction of I-10 in the late 1960s. It runs from the Victory Bridge in Chattahoochee in the northwest, and then southeast through Gretna, Douglas City, and Quincy before finally leaving the county east of Midway into Leon County.
• US 27 is the sole south-to-north U.S. highway running through the northeastern part of the county.
• State Road 12 is a west-to-east state highway running from Liberty County in the southwest to Havana in the northeast. It also contains a county extension into Leon County.
• State Road 65
• State Road 159 is a short south to north road connecting US 27 to SR 12 in Havana, with a county extension northwest to Georgia State Route 309 at the Georgia State Line.
• State Road 267

Gadsden County has at least four existing railroad lines, three of which are owned by CSX. The first two CSX lines being P&A Subdivision, a line formerly owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and the other is the Tallahassee Subdivision, a former Seaboard Air Line Railroad line. These two lines meet in Chatahoochee and served Amtrak's Sunset Limited until it was truncated to New Orleans in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. A third line is the Apalachicola Northern Railroad, a line that spans as far south as Port St. Joe. The line enters from Liberty County, then crosses SR 12 in Greensboro, runs under I-10, follows CR 268 in Hardaway, and then turns west into Chatahoochee. The fourth line is the third CSX Line, the Bainbridge Subdivision, which runs along the west side of US 27 from Leon County by way of a bridge over the Ochlockonee River to the Georgia State Line. While some spurs still exist, other lines within the county were abandoned.

Public Transportation is provided by Big Bend Transit, which operates 3 bus routes in the county.

• Chattahoochee
• Gretna
• Midway
• Quincy

• Havana
• Greensboro

• Dogtown
• Hinson
• Jamieson
• Lake Tallavana
• Mount Pleasant
• Oak Grove
• Reston
• St. Hebron
• St. John
• Scotland
• Scottown
• Wetumpka

• 
  Gadsden County Board of Commissioners
• 
  Gadsden County Sheriff's Office
• 
  Gadsden County Emergency Medical Services and Gadsden County Fire Services

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gadsden County, Florida

• Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners
• Gadsden County Supervisor of Elections
• Gadsden County Property Appraiser
• Gadsden County Sheriff's Office
• Gadsden County Tax Collector

• Gadsden County Schools
• Northwest Florida Water Management District

• Gadsden County Clerk of Courts
• Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla counties
• Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Circuit and County Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida

• Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce
• RiverWay South, FL regional tourism website Archived April 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
• Official Gadsden County Tourism website

30°35′N 84°37′W / 30.58°N 84.61°W / 30.58; -84.61