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South Florida metropolitan area
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The Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as South Florida, or the Miami Metro 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, respectively. The term "South Florida" is roughly synonymous with the Gold Coast.
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 twenty miles (32 km) wide, and in some areas only five miles 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 areas 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.
There has recently been a move by two cities in Broward County, Margate and North Lauderdale, to split the area roughly consisting of the South Florida metropolitan area off from the state of Florida and form a new state, South Florida; this hypothetical state would consist of Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The complaint made by the proposers of the division is that South Florida has different needs than the rest of the state, suffers from an unfair tax burden, and has several programs that have been consistently under-funded by Tallahassee legislators.
Micropolitan divisions
The Miami metropolitan area contains of three distinct micropolitan divisions, subdividing the region into three divisions according to the region's three counties: Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.
| Micropolitan 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 | |
CitiesPrincipal cities Ten largest cities
(Cities with over 100,000 inhabitants) | | City | Population | County |
|---|
| Miami | 409,719 | Miami-Dade | | Hialeah | 224,522 | Miami-Dade | | Fort Lauderdale | 185,804 | Broward | | Pembroke Pines | 150,064 | Broward | | Hollywood | 145,879 | Broward | | Coral Springs | 129,805 | Broward | | Miramar | 108,240 | Broward | | West Palm Beach | 107,617 | Palm Beach | | Miami Gardens | 106,566 | Miami-Dade | | Pompano Beach | 104,355 | Broward |
Areas with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants
Areas with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
Demographics
PopulationSouth Florida is a very diverse community with much of the population coming from all over Latin America (especially South Americans from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Guyana, and most Central American countries like Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala) and the Caribbean (especially Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Barbados and other West Indians.)
Another large factor are residents who were former snowbirds 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, Italian-American, Irish-American, Puerto Rican-American, Dominican-American, African-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 Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, and smaller numbers from the Pacific Northwest.
Many Canadians (mostly French Canadians), Brazilians, Israelis, Russians and Europeans (mainly from Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France) also add to the diversity, though people from all over the world live in South Florida.
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 rather than a melting pot, whereas some parts of Central Florida, the Tampa Bay Area, and Southwest Florida, and most parts of the Florida Heartland, the Florida Panhandle, North Florida and elsewhere in Florida have more of a Southern culture.
Politically speaking, South Florida is heavily Democratic, especially Broward and Palm Beach, while the rest of Florida tends to vote more Republican. 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 heavily Democratic when compared to most of North Florida and Central Florida.
As of the 2005 American Community Survey there is a total of 5,334,685 people living in the metropolis.
Population: As of the 2005 U.S. Census, there were 5,334,685 people, 2.8 million (52%) females and 2.6 million (48%) 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 Indians]) or African American: 21% [1,075,174]
- Native American: less than 0.5% [10,582]
- Asian (many of Indo-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 originNational 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.
EducationEducation: In 2005, 82% of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 28% 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 CostsHousing 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.
Education
In Florida, each county is also a school district. Each district is headed by an elected school board. A professional superintendent mana | |
