Florida Facts

"The Sunshine State" is Florida's official state nickname because of the many sunny days in Florida. It was adopted by the 1970 Legislature. Florida was admitted to the U.S. as a State on March 3, 1845 as the 27th state.

Florida actually means "full (or feast) of flowers" named by explorer Ponce de Leon because of all the flowers he saw when he landed here in 1513. Florida's semi-tropical climate allows it to have year-round flowers and lush vegetation.

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Quick Facts


Florida Seal	Florida Flag	Florida Quarter


State Abbreviation	FL
State Capital	Tallahassee Take the Capital Tour to learn about the history of the Capital.
Largest City	Jacksonville
Area (Square Miles)	Total Area- 58,560, Land Area- 54,252 , Total Water Area- 4,308
Population	15,982,378 (2000 Census) 4th after California, Texas and New York
Major Industries	tourism, agriculture, electronics
Natural Highest Point	Lakewood 345 feet above sea level in Walton County
Geographic Center	12 miles northwest of Brooksville, Hernando County
Bordering States	Georgia, Alabama
Bordering Bodies of Water	Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico
Coastline	1,197 Statute Miles
Beaches	663 Miles
Rivers, Streams & Waterways	11,000 miles
Longest River	St. Johns at 273 miles
Largest Lake	Lake Okeechobee at 700 square miles (2nd largest in U.S.)
# of Lakes greater than 10 acres	Approx. 7,700
# of First Magnitude Springs	27 (more than any other state)
# of Islands Greater than 10 Acres	Approx. 4,500
Number of Counties	67 Counties
Largest County	Palm Beach at 2,578 square miles
Smallest County	Union at 245 square miles
Hurricane Season	June 1 - November 30
Annual Summer Temps	80.5(F) North Florida / 82.7(F) South Florida (more climatology)
Annual Winter Temps	53.0(F) North Florida / 68.5(F) South Florida (more climatology)
Form of Government	Governor and independent cabinet consisting of Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture.
Legislature	120 House Districts, 40 Senate Districts, 23 Congressional Districts
State Sales Tax	6%
Corporate Tax	5.5%
State Income Tax	None
Number of major Commercial Airports	20
Number of International Airports	12
Number of Deepwater Ports	14 with Offering Cargo and Cruise Ships
Number of golf courses	1,250 + (more than any other state)
Education	67 School Districts, one for each Florida County
Points of Interest	Walt Disney World, EPCOT Center, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Everglades National Park, Busch Gardens, Key West, Sea World, Ormond-Daytona Beach, Universal Studios Florida

Featured Sites

Site Matches

Florida QuickLinks from the US Census Bureau. Census information for Population, business and government.
Florida QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. Compare Florida Census information with US.
Florida's Capitol
County/City name origins
Florida Lighthouse Page
Florida Land Boundary Information System
Fun Things to know about Florida Lots of general facts about Florida
Atlas of Florida
Digital Florida digital library of images, movies, and sounds about Florida and
Floridians.
FIPS 55-3 Class Code Definitions

County Quickfacts

Alachua County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Baker County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Bay County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Bradford County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Brevard County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Broward County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Calhoun County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Charlotte County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Citrus County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Clay County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Collier County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Columbia County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
DeSoto County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Dixie County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Duval County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Escambia County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Flagler County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Franklin County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Gadsden County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Gilchrist County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Glades County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Gulf County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Hamilton County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Hardee County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Hendry County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Hernando County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Highlands County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Hillsborough County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Holmes County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Indian River County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Jackson County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Jefferson County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Lafayette County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Lake County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Lee County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Leon County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Levy County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Liberty County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Madison County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Manatee County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Marion County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Martin County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Miami-Dade County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Monroe County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Nassau County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Okaloosa County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Okeechobee County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Orange County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Osceola County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Palm Beach County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Pasco County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Polk County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Putnam County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
St. Johns County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
St. Lucie County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Santa Rosa County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Sarasota County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Seminole County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Sumter County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Suwannee County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Taylor County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Union County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Volusia County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Wakulla County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Walton County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Washington County QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau

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