Thus, most students are from a rural or small town background. Marianna, with a population of about 10,000, is the largest city in the district. The population of the entire district is less than 94,000.
Most regional students commute to the campus.
The major industries of the Chipola District are agriculture and forestry. The district is Florida's top producer of peanuts and a major producer of beef cattle. The second largest income producing industry in the area is corrections. A federal correctional facility, four state prisons, and a juvenile corrections center are located within the five counties. Unlike most of the state, tourism is not a major industry in the district, although thousands visit annually to fish in Lake Seminole and the many other rivers, lakes, streams and ponds.