Leon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Tallahassee is the county seat and state capital. Leon County holds the distinction as having the highest level of education among all of Florida's 67 counties. Leon County was created in 1824 and named for Juan Ponce de León, who was the first European to reach Florida. Leon County has a total area of approximately 702 square miles of which 95% is land and 5% water. As of the 2000 census, there were 239,452 people, 96,521 households, and 54,341 families residing in Leon County, FL.