Florida Fast Facts

Population

• Florida is poised to pass New York as the third most populous state by 2011.

Economy

• Florida's $674.0 billion Gross State Product is the fourth largest in the U.S.

Location

• No business in Florida is more than 90 miles from one or more of the state's 14 deepwater seaports.

Trade

• Florida is a national leader in international commerce, with $95.3 billion in trade, proximity to Latin America and a multicultural population.
• High-tech exports from Florida reached $11 billion in 2005, the third highest nationwide.

Jobs

• Florida's 3.8% unemployment rate was the second lowest among large states in 2005.
• Florida added 259,800 new jobs from July 2005 to July 2006 and ranks first in the nation for job creation.
• Florida remains one of only 10 states with a right-to-work provision in its constitution.
• Florida's metro areas hold the top three spots and 12 of the top 30 on the Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities Index of where jobs are created.

Technology

• Florida ranks fourth in the nation for total high-tech employment: 265,484 high-tech workers.
• Florida added 6,700 high-tech jobs in 2004 to become the second fastest growing state in high-tech industry employment.

Finance

• Florida has 354 financial institutions, including 56 international banks.

Defense

• Defense-related industries are a $44 billion segment of the state's economy, representing 714,500 direct and indirect jobs.

Education

• Every Floridian lives within 50 miles of an institution of post-secondary learning.

Telecommunications

• Eight Florida cities are on Intel Corporation's list of top 100 for greatest wireless accessibility.

Quality of Life

• Florida has earned top rankings in Harris Poll's "most desirable places to live" since the survey's inception.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation; AeA Cyberstates 2006.

To view an interactive map of Florida and news from each region, please click here.

Tags: Around Florida, Banking & Finance, Business Services, Business Florida