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Florida State Facts & Figures


Capitol - Tallahassee

Population - Population, demographic, and housing information from the US Census

Population growth rate 1990-2000 - 23.5%

Most populous metropolitan area 2000 - Miami-Ft. Lauderdale: 3,876,380

10 largest cities (2000 est.) Florida counties - There are 67 counties in Florida

State Flag - The Florida State Flag the Florida State Flag displays two diagonal red bars on a white background with the state seal in the center. The Great Seal of the State of Florida, at the intersection of the red diagonal bars, features a Native American Seminole woman scattering flowers, a steamboat, a cabbage palmetto tree and a brilliant sun. Florida is thusly represented as the land of sunshine, flowers, palm trees, rivers and lakes. The seal reads, "Great Seal of the State of Florida * In God We Trust"

State Symbols - Statebird, song, etc.

Total Area - 58,560 square miles

Total land area - 54,252 squaremiles

Total water area - 4,308 squaremiles

Rank among states in total area -22nd

Length north and south - 447 miles(St. Marys River to KeyWest)

Width east and west - 361 miles(Atlantic Ocean to PerdidoRiver)

Distance from Pensacola to Key West- 792 miles (by road)

Highest Natural Point - 345 feet near Lakewood in northeast WaltonCounty

Geographic Center - 12 milesnorthwest of Brooksville, HernandoCounty

Coastline - 1,197 statute miles

Tidal shoreline (general) - 2,276statute miles

Beaches - 663 miles

Longest River - St. Johns, 273miles

Largest Lake - Lake Okeechobee,700 square miles

Largest county - PalmBeach, 2,578 square miles

Smallest county - Union, 245 square miles

Lakes:
Florida has about 7,800 lakes, many of which are still unnamed. They range inarea from mere one-acre ponds to mighty Lake Okeechobee, which measures 448,000 acres. Nearly all of Florida's lakes are natural, having originated either as sink holes, as sea-bottom depressions, or as erosion points of rivers and, as a general rule, are relatively shallow. More than one-third of the state's lakes are to be found in four of the 67 counties - Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Polk. These four counties are located in the central Florida area.

Number of first-magnitude springs - 27

Number of islands (greater than 10acres) - about 4,500

First permanent European settlement - St. Augustine in 1565 by Spain

U.S. Territory - 1821

Admitted to U.S. as state - March 3, 1845 (27th state)

Education - Florida is divided into sixty-seven school districts, one for each Florida county.

Property taxes are collected in each school district forpublic primary and secondary education.

Form of government - Governor and independent cabinet consisting of secretary of state, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, and commissioner of education

State sales tax - 6%

State income tax - None

Legislature - 120 housedistricts, 40 senate districts, 25 congressional districts.

Major commercial airports - Miami International, Orlando International Airport, Tampa International, Fort Lauderdale International, West Palm Beach International, Jacksonville International, Southwest Regional (Fort Myers), Sarasota/Bradenton Regional, Pensacola Regional, Daytona Beach International, Melbourne Regional, St. Petersburg/Clearwater International, Gainesville Regional, KeyWest International, Tallahassee Regional, Eglin Air Force Base, Panama City/Bay County Regional.