History and Culture
• A thriving arts scene, including the eclectic galleries of Miami Beach, Sarasota, Naples and Key West, 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
• Birthplace of America’s space program, with exhibits and attractions at Kennedy Space Center tracing the history and future of spaceflight
• Culturally diverse: More than one in four residents speak a language other than English at home, with Spanish the most common.
• Home to America’s oldest European settlement, St. Augustine, founded 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock
Leisure
• More than 105 million visitors annually; 13.3 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
• 161 state parks, 10 state trails, three national parks, two national seashores and two national preserves
• 10 of the top 25 U.S. beaches on TripAdvisor’s “2016 Travelers’ Choice” list and the only state on TripAdvisor’s top 25 world beaches list (Clearwater Beach)
• No. 1 state for recreational boat registration
• 1,100+ golf courses
• 10 pro sports franchises in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer
• Florida Grapefruit League, with a 2016 average draw of 7,096 fans per game, the most in 100+ years
• Headquarters for many sporting organizations and their world-class events, including NASCAR, the USTA, ATP and WTA tennis tours
Health Care
• More than 300 medical and surgical hospitals, including Moffitt Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center
• At 50,000+, fourth among U.S. states for number of patient care physicians
• Seven Florida hospitals among the nation’s top 50 in 13 medical specialties per U.S. News & World Report
Education
• A postsecondary educational institution within 50 miles of every resident
• Second in the U.S. for students taking and passing Advanced Placement exams
• 12 high schools ranked among the nation’s top 70 on U.S. News & World Report’s “2016 Best High Schools” list
• Three universities among the top 40 worldwide for number of U.S. utility patents awarded in 2015
• 28,000+ STEM graduates and 18,000 business degree majors annually
