Three of Tallahassee’s zip codes are among the highest in the state when it comes to the number of children living in poverty, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 State of Childhood Poverty in Florida report.
Data from the report shows more than 5,000 children across three Tallahassee zip codes live in poverty. That includes over 4 in 10 children in the 32304 zip code.
Florida Chamber CEO Mark Wilson said poverty in the state is largely localized to 15% of the state's zip codes. He said the chamber focuses on child poverty because children do not have a choice.
"The children were born in the zip code they were born in. They didn't choose it. It's the situation they're in," he said.
He said his organization hopes to address childhood poverty by encouraging more involvement from the private sector.
“The private sector has a massive role to play. I think it's bigger than the government sector. The private sector funds almost all philanthropy, and a lot of the philanthropy in the panhandle of Florida is doing really good work, and now what we want to do is directed to the zip codes and to the root causes where it can make the biggest impact," he said.
In addition to the 32304 zipcode, the chamber found high instances of child poverty in the 32301, 32303 zip codes.