Today, the population of Brandon and the neighboring communities of Seffner, Limona, Valrico, Mango, Riverview, Bloomingdale, Durant, Lithia and Dover is about 178,808 with over 62,000 households. Brandon has become a community of professionals, many of whom commute to Tampa. Brandon has grown by leaps and bounds and has become a major urban area. New public schools, malls, corporate centers and industries are opening daily. Brandon is a place with great community spirit and a friendly atmosphere.

Everything in Brandon is growing with the biggest story for 1995 being the opening of the Brandon Town Center. Since its opening, the mall has been a catalyst for growth. The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce is now getting three times as many requests for information from businesses looking to expand in Brandon than it did prior to the Center's opening. Businesses all over the area are feeling the impact of the mall. The Brandon Town Center draws new customers to the area from all over the state due to its special tenant structure and advanced design. It is also a favorite stop form many international visitors. One million shoppers visited the mall during its first 17 days in operation. Brandon's potential helped the developer to sign up most of the mall's tenants before the $200 million project was even financed. Now, new stores and plazas are popping up all around the mall. Brandon has come a long way from the days of its sole general store.

When you drive through Brandon, you see development everywhere. The demand for new housing grows every day. The community's borders continue to stretch as the vacant land on the outskirts is used for residential and business development. The Bloomingdale area is expanding rapidly as new developments are built around the Bloomingdale Golf Course. South on Lithia Pinecrest Road is Arvida Riverhills and the FishHawk Trails. Providence, Riverview and other parts of southern Brandon are also drawing new homeowners looking for affordable housing. Brandon has become a community with its own suburbs that stretch for miles around it.

In its 141 years, Brandon has grown from one family living alone in the wilderness, to an unincorporated thriving community of over 170,000 in Tampa Bay, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. Much has changed in the last three or four decades for Brandon. No longer a quiet country village or a sleepy suburb, it is now a bustling center of commerce. It has proved to be a wonderful place to live and work and its growth is assured as it takes its place among the Tampa Bay area's most thriving communities.