History and Culture
A thriving arts scene, including the eclectic galleries of Miami Beach, Sarasota, Naples and Key West, and renowned works by Salvador Dali in St. Petersburg, Louis Comfort Tiffany in Winter Park and acclaimed artists of the Americas at Pérez Art Museum Miami
• Home to America’s oldest European settlement, St. Augustine, founded 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock
• Culturally diverse: more than one in four residents speak a language other than English in their homes, with Spanish the most common
• Birthplace of America’s space program, with exhibits and attractions at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex tracing spaceflight’s past, present and future
Leisure
• Nearly 113 million visitors annually; 16 million for sports and recreation alone
• 1,197 miles of coastline, 663 miles of beaches, 7,700 lakes, 1,711 rivers and streams, 700 natural springs
• 174 state parks, trails and historic sites; three national parks, two national seashores and two national preserves
• 9 of the top 25 U.S. beaches on TripAdvisor’s “2017 Travelers’ Choice” list and the only U.S. state on TripAdvisor’s top 25 world beaches list (Siesta Beach)
• 1,100+ golf courses
• No. 1 state for recreational vessel registration
• Florida Grapefruit League, with a 2017 average draw of 6,337 fans per game for a total of close to 1.6 million
• 10 pro sports franchises in baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer
• Headquarters for many sporting organizations and their world-class events, including NASCAR, the USTA, ATP and WTA tennis tours
Education
• A postsecondary educational institution within 50 miles of every Florida resident
• 15 Florida high schools ranked among the nation’s top 100 on U.S. News & World Report’s “2017 Best High Schools” list
• 4 universities among the top 50 worldwide for number of U.S. utility patents awarded in 2016
• 28,000+ STEM graduates and 18,000 business degree majors annually
Health Care
• Close to 300 medical and surgical hospitals, including Moffitt Cancer Center, a designated National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center
• At 52,000+, fourth among U.S. states for number of active physicians
• 8 Florida hospitals among the nation’s top 50 in 13 medical specialties on U.S. News & World Report’s list of “Best Hospitals, 2017-18”
