The Miami Urbanized Area stretches
along the Atlantic Coast for most of the length of the Miami metro
area, but is confined to a relatively narrow area between the coast
and the Everglades.
South Florida, or more
officially the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach
Metropolitan Area, encompasses a three-county area of the
southeastern part of the U.S.
state of Florida
.
The
metropolitan area covers the counties of Miami-Dade
, Broward
, and Palm Beach
. The three counties are the three most
populous in Florida. The
term "South Florida" is roughly synonymous with the
Gold Coast.
The principal cities
include Miami
, Fort Lauderdale
, and West Palm Beach
. The Florida Keys
are also included in the metropolitan area at
times.
Because
the population of South Florida is largely confined to a strip of
land between the Atlantic
Ocean
and the Everglades
, the Miami urbanized area (that is, the area
of contiguous urban development) is about long (north to south),
but never more than wide, and in some areas only wide (east to
west). South Florida is longer than any other
urbanized area in the United States except for the New York
metropolitan area
. It was the eighth most densely populated
urbanized area in the United States in
the 2000 census. As of the 2000 census, the urbanized area had a
land area of 1,116 square miles ( 2,890.7
square kilometers), with a population of
4,919,036, for a population density of 4,407.4 per square mile
(1,701.7 per square kilometer).
Miami and Hialeah
(the second
largest city in the metropolitan area) had population densities of
more than 10,000 per square mile (more than 3,800 per square
kilometer). The Miami Urbanized Area was the fifth largest
Urbanized Area (but 7th largest metropolitan area) in the United
States in the 2000 census.
The Miami metro area also includes several
urban clusters (UCs) as of the 2000
Census which are not part of the Miami Urbanized Area.
These are the Belle
Glade
UC, population 24,218, area 20,717,433 square
metres and population density of 3027.6 per square mile; Key
Biscayne
UC, population 10,513, area 4,924,214 square metres
and population density of 5529.5 per square mile; Redland
UC,
population 3,936, area 10,586,212 square metres and population
density of 963.0 per square mile; and West Jupiter
UC, population 8,998, area 24,737,176 square metres
and population density of 942.1 per square mile.
In 2006, the area had an estimated 5,463,857 persons, of which
1,671,398 live in unincorporated areas. Considering that the area
has an urban population of 4,919,036, only 544,821 residents live
outside of the urban area, meaning that
at least 1,126,577
persons live in urban unincorporated areas, but the number is
actually higher.
Metropolitan divisions
The Miami
metropolitan area contains of three distinct metropolitan divisions,
subdividing the region into three divisions according to the
region's three counties: Miami-Dade County
, Broward County, and
Palm Beach County.
| Metropolitan Divisions |
2007
Population
|
| Miami--Miami Beach—Kendall |
2,402,208 |
| Fort Lauderdale--Pompano Beach—Deerfield
Beach |
1,787,636 |
| West Palm Beach--Boca Raton—Boynton Beach |
1,351,236 |
|
Cities
Principal cities
Ten largest
cities
(Cities with over 100,000 inhabitants)
|
| City |
Population |
County |
Miami |
424,662 |
Miami-Dade |
| Hialeah |
212,217 |
Miami-Dade |
Fort Lauderdale |
183,606 |
Broward |
Pembroke Pines |
146,828 |
Broward |
Hollywood |
142,473 |
Broward |
Coral Springs |
126,875 |
Broward |
Miami Gardens |
108,862 |
Miami-Dade |
Miramar |
108,240 |
Broward |
Pompano Beach |
104,355 |
Broward |
|
Principal cities are defined by the Census Bureau based on
population size and employment. In general, a principal city has
more non-residents commuting into the city to work than residents
commuting out of the city to work. As of November, 2007 the Census
Bureau defined the following principal cities in the metropolitan
area:
Areas with between 10,000 and 95,000 inhabitants
Areas with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
Demographics
Population
South
Florida is a very diverse community with much of the population
coming from all over Latin America and
the
Caribbean
, Europe, Canada
, and Asia.
Another
large factor are residents who were former snowbird from the Northeast, like New York
and New Jersey
. Many of them come from a variety of
age-ranges, mostly retirees, and tend to be
Jewish-American, Muslim-American, Italian-American, Irish-American, African-American, Puerto Rican-American, Dominican-American, and other second and
third-generation Americans.
To a
lesser extent, snowbirds are also from the Midwest (mostly Ohio
, Illinois
, and Michigan
) and West Coast (mainly California
,) as well as the the South and the Pacific Northwest.
There is
also a notable difference in the culture of South Florida and the
rest of Florida, as it tends to be more of a multicultural mosaic and a salad bowl than a melting pot, whereas the majority of the
Florida Heartland, the Florida Panhandle, North Florida, and portions of northern
Central
Florida
(with the exception of Orlando
) have more of a Southern
culture.
Politically speaking, South Florida is
heavily Democratic,
especially Broward (which is the second most reliably Democrat and liberal county in Florida,
with the exception of the much less populous Gadsden
County
, where African
Americans are a majority). Also, Palm
Beach is largely Democrat as well, especially amongst the
Jewish community, while the rest of Florida
tends to vote more Republican, with the
exception of major parts of Florida where Southern culture is not
as influential. This is due in large part to
Southern politics.
With a
majority Hispanic population in Miami-Dade, Republican votes are mainly by older generations
of Cuban Americans most of whom had
fled to the United States to escape the Communist reign of Fidel
Castro, but Miami-Dade County still remains very Democratic
when compared with most of Florida's
other counties.
As of the 2005 American Community Survey there is a total of
5,334,685 people living in the metropolis.
South Florida has a very large
Jewish
community; 10.2% of the population was Jewish in the
2000 Census. There is also a sizable
Muslim community numbering at 70,000 some of
whom are American born
converts to
Islam.
Population: As of the 2005 U.S. Census, there were
5,334,685 people, mainly upper class people. 2.8 million (52%) were
females and 2.6 million (48%) were males. The median age was 38.6
years. 24% of the population were under 18 years and 15% were 65
years and older. There were 2,338,450 households, and 1,326,391
families residing in the South Florida metropolitan area.
Ethnicity:
The racial makeup of population of South Florida [5,334,685] as
of 2005:
- White: 72% [3,840,973]
- White Non-Hispanic: 39% [2,080,527]
- White Hispanic: 33% [1,760,446]
- Black (many
from the Caribbean [West Indian
]) or African American: 21%
[1,075,174]
- Native American:
less than 0.5% [10,582]
- Asian (many of Indo-Caribbean, Asian Latino and Chinese Caribbean origin): 2% [111,196]
- Pacific Islander:
less than 0.5% [3,346]
- Other races: 5%
[286,399]
- Two or more races: 2% [91,520]
- Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38% [2,013,725]
of the population
Language and national origin
National origin and language: Of the people living
in the South Florida metro area in 2005, 63 percent were born in
the United States (including 30 percent who were born in Florida)
and 37 percent were
foreign born. Among
people at least five years old living in South Florida in 2005, 52
percent spoke
English at home while
48 percent spoke some other language at home. Of those speaking a
language other than English at home, 78 percent spoke
Spanish and 22 percent spoke some other
language (mainly
Haitian Creole, but
also
French,
German,
Hebrew,
Italian,
Portuguese,
Russian or
Yiddish). About 47 percent reported that
they did not speak English "very well."
Geographic mobility: In 2005, 83 percent of the
people at least one year old living in the South Florida metro area
were living in the same residence one year earlier; 12 percent had
moved during the past year from another residence in the same
county, 2 percent from another county in the same state, 2 percent
from another state, and 1 percent from abroad.
Households and families: There were 2,338,450
households, The average household size was 2.6 people. Families
made up 65 percent of the households in South Florida. This figure
includes both married-couple families (45 percent) and other
families (20 percent). Nonfamily households made up 35 percent of
all households in South Florida. Most of the nonfamily households
were people living alone, but some consisted of people living in
households in which no one was related to the householder.
Education
Education: In 2005, 83 percent of people 25 years
and over had at least graduated from high school and 30 percent had
a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, 7%
were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not
graduated from high school. The total school enrollment in South
Florida Metro Area was 1.4 million in 2005. Nursery school and
kindergarten enrollment was 170,000 and elementary or high school
enrollment was 879,000 children. College or graduate school
enrollment was 354,000.
Occupation, Income, and Industries
Occupations and Type of Employer: Among the most
common occupations were: 32% were management, professional, and
related occupations, 30% were sales and office occupations, 18%
were service occupations, 11% were construction, extraction,
maintenance and repair occupations, and 9% were production,
transportation, and material moving occupations. 81% of the people
employed were Private wage and salary workers; 12% were Federal,
state, or local government workers; and 7% were Self-employed in
own not incorporated business workers.
Income: The
median
income of households in South Florida was $43,091. 78% of the
households received earnings and 13% received retirement income
other than Social Security. 30% of the households received Social
Security. The average income from Social Security was $13. These
income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households
received income from more than one source.
Industries: In 2005, for the employed population
16 years and older, the leading industries in South Florida Area
were Educational services, health care and social assistance, which
accounted for 18%, and Professional, scientific, and management,
and administrative and waste management services, which accounted
for 13% of the population.
Traveling to Work: 79% of South Florida workers
drove to work alone in 2005, 10 percent carpooled, 4% took public
transportation, and 4% used other means. The remaining 3% worked at
home. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average
28.5 minutes to get to work.
Poverty and Participation in Government Programs:
In 2005, 14% of people were in poverty. 19% of related children
under 18 were below the
poverty level,
compared with 14% of people 65 years old and over. 11% of all
families, and 26% of families with a female householder and no
husband present had incomes below the poverty level.
Housing characteristics and costs
Housing characteristics: As of 2005, South Florida
had a total of 2.3 million housing units, 13% of which were vacant.
Of the total housing units, 52% were in single-unit structures, 45%
were in multi-unit structures, and 3% were mobile homes. 25% of the
housing units were built since 1990.
Occupied housing unit characteristics: In 2005,
South Florida had 2.0 million occupied housing units - 1.3 million
(66%) owner occupied and 688,000 (34%) renter occupied. 5% of the
households did not have telephone service and 9% of the households
did not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use. Multi
Vehicle households were not rare. 37% had two vehicles and another
13% had three or more.
Housing costs: The median monthly housing costs
for mortgaged owners was $71,517, nonmortgaged owners $65,494, and
renters $59,877. 50% of owners with mortgages, 26% of owners
without mortgages, and 57% of renters in South Florida spent 30% or
more of household income on housing.
Property tax increase: In March 2009, South
Florida lawmakers have approved and passed a 5 to 10 percent hike
in property tax millage rates throughout the metropolitan area to
fund the construction of several new schools and to fund several
more understaffed schools and educational institutions. The raise
in millage rates will mean a very significant jump in residents'
property tax bills starting in the 2009 tax year.
Education
In Florida, each county is also a
school
district. Each district is headed by an elected
school board. A professional
superintendent manages the
day-to-day operations of each district, who is appointed by and
serves at the pleasure of the School Board.
The
Miami-Dade County
Public School District is currently the
4th-largest public school district in the nation. The
School District of Palm
Beach County is the 4th-largest in Florida and the 11th-largest
in the United States.
Broward County Public School
District is the 6th-largest in the United States.
Some colleges and universities in South Florida include:
In 2005, 82 percent of people 25 years and over had at least
graduated from high school and 28 percent had a
bachelor's degree or higher. Among people
16 to 19 years old, 7 percent were
dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and
had not graduated from high school. The total school enrollment in
South Florida metro area was 1.4 million in 2005.
Nursery school and
kindergarten enrollment was 170,000 and
elementary or high school enrollment was 879,000. College or
graduate school enrollment was 354,000.
Transportation
The South Florida metropolitan area is served by five
interstate highways operated by the
Florida Department
of Transportation in conjunction with local agencies.
I-95 runs north to south along the
coast, ending just south of Downtown Miami
. I-75 runs east
to west, turning south in western Broward County; it connects
suburban North Miami-Dade to Naples
on the west coast via Alligator Alley
, which transverses the Florida Everglades before turning north. I-595 connects the Broward coast
and downtown Fort Lauderdale to I-75 and Alligator Alley. I-195 and I-395 both connect the main I-95
route to Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Beach, which is located
across Biscayne
Bay
. I-195 and I-395 also connect (at their
interchanges with I-95) to the Airport Expressway (State Road 112) and the Dolphin
Expressway (State Road
836), respectively, both of which run west to Miami
International Airport
; the Dolphin Expressway also connects to
Florida's Turnpike
and the western suburbs of Miami-Dade
County.
In
Miami, Miami-Dade Transit
operates Metrorail, Florida's only
rapid transit metro with 22 stations
on a track, the Downtown Miami people mover,
(Metromover) with 21 stations and 3 lines
on track, as well as Metrobus. In Broward
County
Broward County Transit
runs public buses as does
Palm Tran in
Palm Beach County. Additionally, the South Florida Regional
Transportation Authority operates
Tri-Rail,
a
commuter rail train that connects
the three of the primary cities of South Florida (Miami, Fort
Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach), and most intermediate
points.
South Florida is served by three major airports:
The three airports combine to make the fourth largest domestic
origin and destination market in the United States, after New York
City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The
metropolis also has four seaports, the largest and most important
being the Port of
Miami
. Others in the area include Port
Everglades
, Port of Palm Beach
and the Miami
River Port.
Major freeways and tollways
Climate
South Florida has a
tropical
climate, the only major metropolitan area in the 48 contiguous
states that falls under this category. More specifically, it
generally has a
tropical
monsoon climate (
Koppen climate classification,
Am). The metropolis does experience cold fronts from
November through March, however most of the year is warm and humid
and the mean temperature for any month is never below 64.4 °F (18
°C). In addition, the metropolis sees most of its rain in the
summer (wet season) and is mainly dry in winter (dry season). The
wet season, which is hot and humid, lasts from May to October, when
it gives way to the dry season, which features mild temperatures
with some invasions of colder air, which is when the little winter
rainfall occurs — with the passing of a front. The
hurricane season largely coincides
with the wet season.
In
addition to its sea-level elevation,
coastal location and position just above the Tropic
of Cancer
, the area owes its warm, humid climate to the
Gulf Stream, which moderates climate
year-round. A typical summer day does not see temperatures
below 75 °F (24 °C). Temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s (30-35
°C) accompanied by high humidity are often relieved by afternoon
thunderstorms or a
sea breeze that develops off the Atlantic Ocean,
which then allow lower temperatures, although conditions still
remain very muggy. During winter, humidity is significantly lower,
allowing for cooler weather to develop. Average minimum
temperatures during that time are around 60 °F (15 °C), very rarely
dipping below 40 °F (4 °C), and the maximum averages around 75 °F
(24 °C).
Hurricane season officially runs
from
June 1 through
November 30, although hurricanes can develop
outside that time period. The most likely time for South Florida to
be hit is during the peak of the
Cape Verde season, mid-August
through the end of September.
Due to its location between two major
bodies of water known for tropical activity, South Florida is also
statistically the most likely major area to be struck by a
hurricane in the world, trailed closely by Nassau,
Bahamas
, and Havana, Cuba
. Many hurricanes have affected the
metropolis, including
Betsy in 1965,
Andrew in 1992,
Irene in 1999, and Hurricanes
Katrina and
Wilma in 2005. In addition, a tropical
depression in October 2000 passed over the city, causing record
rainfall and flooding. Locally, the storm is credited as the
No Name Storm of 2000,
though the depression went on to become Tropical Storm Leslie upon
entering the Atlantic Ocean.
Area codes
- 305 Miami-Dade County and Florida
Keys
- 786 Miami-Dade County only
- 954 Broward County
- 754 Broward County
- 561 Palm Beach County
Sports
Government
The metropolis is governed by the 3 counties in the area. In total
there are 107 municipalities or incorporated places in the
metropolis. Each one of the municipalities has its own city, town
or village government, although there is no distinction between the
3 names. Much of the land in the metropolis is unincorporated,
which means it does not belong to any municipality, and therefore
is governed directly by the county it is located in.
Congressional districts
South Florida has eight congressional districts of which three are
Republican leaning district (
18th,
21st and
25th) and five are
Democratic leaning districts (
17th,
19th,
20th,
22nd and
23rd).
District 21 is the
most Republican leaning district in the area, while
District 17 is the
most Democratic Leaning district in the region.
The Cook Political report lists
District 21 as "leans
Republican" while
District 18 and
District 25
are listed as "likely Republican." Other independent political
analysts including the Rotherberg Political Report, CQ Politics and
the Crystal Ball rate all three South Florida Republican districts
as either "Lean Republican," "Likely Republican," "Republican
Favored," "Limited Risk" or "Safe Republican." None of the
districts are listed in the toss-up column. All of the Democrat
seats in South Florida are listed as either "Safe Democrat,"
"Democrat Favored" or "Limited risk."
According to the August 14, 2008
Time
magazine article, "Democrats are mounting serious challenges to
at least two of Miami's three Republican lawmakers" and that "the
Miami challenges have caught the GOP off guard. Democratic voter
registration in Miami-Dade County, as in other places, is up, and
Republican registration is down."
Media
South Florida is served by several
English-language and two major
Spanish-language daily newspapers.
The Miami
Herald, headquartered in Downtown Miami, is Miami's primary newspaper with over a
million readers. It also has news bureaus in Broward County, Monroe
County
, and Nassau, Bahamas. The
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
circulates primarily in Broward and southern Palm Beach counties
and also has a news bureau in Havana, Cuba.
The Palm Beach Post serves mainly
Palm Beach County, especially the central and northern regions, and
the
Treasure Coast. The
Boca Raton News publishes five days a
week and circulates in southern Palm Beach County.
El Nuevo Herald, a subsidiary of the
Miami Herald, and
Diario Las Americas, are
Spanish-language daily papers that circulate mainly in Miami-Dade
County.
La Palma and
El
Sentinel are weekly Spanish newspapers published by the
Palm Beach Post and
Sun-Sentinel, respectively,
and circulate in the same areas as their English-language
counterparts.
South Florida is split into two separate television/radio markets:
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale market serves Miami-Dade, Broward and the
Florida Keys. The West Palm Beach market serves Palm Beach County
and the
Treasure Coast region.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale is the 12th largest radio market and the
17th-largest television market in the U.S.
Television stations
serving the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area include WAMI-TV
(TeleFutura),
WBFS-TV
(MyNetworkTV),
WSFL-TV
(The
CW), WFOR-TV
(CBS), WHFT-TV
(TBN), WLTV
(Univision), WPLG
(ABC), WPXM
(ION), WSCV
(Telemundo), WSVN
(FOX), WTVJ
(NBC), WPBT
(PBS), and WLRN-TV
(also PBS).
In addition to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, West Palm Beach
has its own. It is the 49th largest radio market and the
38th-largest television market in the U.S.
Television stations
serving the West Palm Beach area include WPTV
(NBC),
WPEC
(CBS),
WPBF
(ABC),
WFLX
(FOX),
WTVX
(The CW),
WXEL (PBS), WTCN
(MyNetworkTV), and WPXP
(ION). The West Palm Beach market shares use of WSCV and
WLTV for Telemundo and Univision respectively. Also, both markets
cross over and tend to be available interchangeably between both
areas.
References
- PDF Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach: Linear &
Visionless - retrieved August 2, 2006
- USA Urbanized Areas Over 500,000: 2000 Rankings - Rank by
Density - URL retrieved September 5, 2006
- Lists of Census 2000 Urbanized Areas and Urban
Clusters - URL retrieved August 27, 2006
- NOTE: large (2.8 MB) PDF
file - UMiami, florida Urbanized Area Outline Map, 2000
Census - URL retrieved August 27, 2006
- State-sorted list for UCs - URL retrieved August 27,
2006
- CTYPFL07_rev.xls
- http://www.broward.org/planningservices/bbtn47.pdf
- Population Served by Local Governments
- World skyline rankings
- Census Bureau Geographic Concepts - retrieved
July 2, 2009
- Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas
defined by the Office of Management and Budget, November 2007 -
retrieved July 2, 2009
- State:Broward Power. St. Petersburg
Times Last accessed November 14, 2006.
- 2008 General Election Results. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- sun-sentinel.com Election 2008 (Florida
Presidential election results): 2008
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com Election 2008
(Florida Presidential election results): 2008
- CNN.com Election 2004 (Florida Presidential
election results): 2004
- CNN.com Election 2006 (Florida Gubernatorial
election results): 2006
- American Community Survey - URL retrieved
January 4, 2007
- American Community Survey: Narrative Profile -
URL retrieved August 27, 2007
- S. Fla's 70,000 Muslims start holy month of
Ramadan
- and Housing Narrative Profile: 2005
-
http://www.eclatconsulting.com/im_pdf/top_200_us_markets.pdf
- Köppen Climate Classification Map: South
Florida=Aw=tropical wet & dry
- Climate Zones of the World, under Koppen's
System, retrieved August 8, 2006
- Weather.com Vulnerable cities: Miami, Florida,
retrieved February 19, 2006
- Cook Political Report, as of 2008-07-31
- Rothenberg Political Report, as of
2008-07-29
- CQ Politics
- Crystal Ball, as of 2008-07-30
- Time Magazine, Big Trouble in Little Havana by Tim
Padgett, August 14, 2008.
- Boca Raton News home page - URL retrieved
August 19, 2006
- Diario Las Americas
External links
(public)
(public)
(public)
(private)
(private/Catholic)
(private)
(FLL)
(PBI)
Interstate 95
Interstate 75
Interstate 195
Interstate 395
Interstate 595
Florida's Turnpike
Dolphin
Expressway
Gratigny
Parkway
Airport Expressway
Don
Shula Expressway
Snapper Creek Expressway
Sawgrass Expressway
Palmetto Expressway
Hialeah Expressway
Downtown Distributor
in Miami Gardens, Florida
in Downtown Miami
in Sunrise
.
.
.
, U.S.
Century Bank Arena
), Nova
Southeastern University and University of Miami
and Mark Light Field
).
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