Visulate

Today Apalachicola is a charming, but quiet town located in the panhandle near the coast. However, it was once the third largest shipping port on the gulf coast. The over 900 historic sites and buildings give insight to what the city was like over a hundred years ago. Visitors looking to experience "old Florida" will enjoy staying in one of Apalachicola's numerous bed and breakfasts as well as browsing the town's quaint, old-fashioned shops. The charm and history of Apalachicola is hard to find anywhere else in Florida.

One of the largest aspects of Apalachicola's economy is the oyster industry. Apalachicola Bay is one of the US's largest estuaries and a source for much of the country's seafood. However, in recent years the oyster population has drastically declined due to the dwindling stream of water coming from two rivers flowing from Georgia as well as overharvesting in 2010 after the BP oil spill. This has had drastic negative consequences on Apalachicola's $6 million seafood industry. Florida's governor Rick Scott has asked to declare the area a fishing disaster.

Apalachicola is in North West Florida. It's population as recorded in the 2010 Census was 2,231. Apalachicola is approximately 65 miles from Tallahassee (population 181,376) and around 50 miles from Panama City (population 36,484).

The median age for residents of Apalachicola is 43.7. Around 25.2% of Apalachicola households include school aged children and 32.5% of households include individuals aged 65 years or over. Census records indicate 66.9% of the Apalachicola population are White, 26.4% are Black or African American, .6% American Indian, .3% Asian and 2.4% are Two or more Races.

There are 1,352 housing units in Apalachicola. 360 (26.6%) of these were reported as vacant in the 2010 Census. Apalachicola is a tourist destination, 42.5% (153) of it's vacant housing units were classed as seasonal, recreational or for occasional use. There are 447 residential rental units in Apalachicola. 377 of them were occupied in 2010 providing a residential rental vacancy rate of 14.8%.