FL
| Florida (FL) | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Sunshine State |
| Flag | The Florida seal overlaid in the center of a “red saltire” (red diagonal cross on a white background) |
| Capital | Tallahassee |
| Largest city | Jacksonville |
| Population | 21,538,187 (in 2020) |
| Area | 65,758 square miles (including land and water) |
| Rank among states in total area | 22nd |
| State Bird | Mockingbird |
| State Animal | Florida Panther |
| State Tree | Sabal Palm |
| State Song | “Old Folks at Home” |
| State Play | Cross and Sword |
| State Anthem | “Florida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky” |
| State Reptile | American Alligator |
| Number of lakes (> 10 acres) | about 7,700 |
| Number of islands (> 10 acres) | about 4,500 |
| Number of springs (first-magnitude) | 33 |
| Largest county | Palm Beach |
| Populous County | Miami-Dade (in 2020) |
| State income tax | 0 (Null) |
| Spoken Language | English (66%), Spanish (20%) |
FL is short-name (two-letter postal abbreviation) for the state of Florida. The 27th state in the United States was Florida (FL). Right now (2024), Florida (FL) is the third most populated state, after Texas and California.
Florida (FL) was first inhabited at least 14,000 years ago. After Spanish traveler and explorer “Juan Ponce de León” arrived in Florida in 1513, written accounts of the state’s history were first documented. In observance of Pascua Florida, or the “feast of the flowers,” which is Spain’s Easter celebration, “Ponce de León” gave the place the name La Florida.
The “House of Representatives” and the Senate make up the Florida (FL) Legislature, the state’s bicameral legislature. 40 senators, representing “40 districts,” make up the Senate. The term of a senator is four years. 120 lawmakers, representing “120 districts,” make up the House of Representatives. The periods of representatives are two years.
The economy of the state of Florida (FL) is the fourth-largest in the United States, with almost $1.3 trillion “gross domestic product” (GDP) as of 2023. Florida’s real economic growth scored eighth in the country during the third quarter of 2023. Florida’s personal income growth scored twenty-first in the country during the “third quarter” of 2023.
Regarding “foreign direct investment” (FDI), Florida (FL) is rated sixth among states. Of Florida’s total economic activity, “foreign direct investment and international trade” make up about 17%.
One in five Florida (FL) employment, or more than 2 million people, are dependent on international commerce. When it comes to “origin exports,” Florida is rated seventh. The countries with which the US has free trade agreements receive 40% of “origin exports” of Florida. The US seaports nearest to the “Panama Canal” are in Florida.
There is a wide range of cultural resources available in Florida (FL). The ruins of ancient European settlements, “12,000-year-old Native American sites,” Mediterranean Revival houses, and Art Deco structures are among them.
More than 170 countries get Florida’s $4 billion worth of “agricultural exports.” With 37% of its produced items exported, Florida (FL) ranks third in the United States for “export intensity.”
Florida (FL) is boasting a “State Highway System” spanning over 12,000 miles and over 1,350 miles of shoreline. There are 1,471 miles of interstates in Florida. Florida is the state with the most “Safe Phone Zones,” having designated 64 rest areas, welcome centers, and “turnpike service plazas” throughout the state.
There are nearly 600 private “airports, and heliports,” 11 significant military airfields, and 130 public airports in Florida (FL). Florida airports handle about 11% of the nation’s air cargo traffic. With 95 million “enplaned passengers,” Florida was ranked second in the US in 2019.
When comparing states (without Renewable Portfolio Standards) for installed solar energy, Florida leads the country.
Florida (FL) is a significant hub for insurance and finance, home to “170 large banks with over $336 billion in in-state assets” and around 4,300 regulated insurance businesses.
The “League of American Bicyclists” has ranked Florida (FL) as the 10th best bicycle-friendly state in the US for 2019.
There are twelve universities that make up the “State University System” of Florida (FL), ranging from highly regarded comprehensive research universities to nationally recognized liberal arts colleges. U.S. News & World Report placed Florida’s Pre K-12 education at the 27th best overall, and its “higher education at the top” (7th year in a row). Florida placed second for two-year degree program completion rates, fourth for four-year college graduation rates, and 12th overall for the “proportion of children enrolled” in preschool offerings.
Across the entire continental United States, Florida (FL) has the highest number of days with clouds covering 20% to 70% of the sun.
Florida’s mild climate, award-winning park structure, wildlife and stunning waterways make it the ideal destination for “outdoor lovers and leisure seekers.” There are more than 1,000 springs in Florida (FL), 1,811,329 acres of “lakes, reservoirs, and ponds,” 49,128 miles of ditches and canals, and 54,836 miles of waterways and rivers.
According to “Outdoor Industry Association” report in 2020, consumer spending on major resource-based outdoor recreation activities, places Florida (FL) in second place in the United States.
Florida’s median household income was $67,917.00 in 2022.
According to the 2020 census, Florida’s “racial and ethnic” makeup was as follows: 27.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 17.0% Black, 3.1% Asian, and 76.8% White (52.3% non-Hispanic or Latino White). Florida has the third-highest veteran population in the country.
In Florida (FL) persons over 25, who have completed “high school or above” make up 89.3% of the population, while those who have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher make up 32.3% — as stated over “census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/FL/POP010220”.
Christians make up 70% of the population in Florida; “Atheist and Agnostic” people make up 7%; and non-Christian make up 6%. Evangelical Protestants (24%) and Catholics (21%) make up the majority of the Christian population — as mentioned at “pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/state/florida/”.
In 2021, Florida (FL) was the “eleventh state” in the continental US for the production of fresh seafood.
When it comes to the largest percentage of active physicians under 40, Florida (FL) comes in fifth place nationally.
Florida is ranked twenty-first in social and economic variables, thirty in the physical environment, forty-six in clinical treatment, twenty-five in the behavioral category, and twenty-first in “health outcomes” in 2022.
There were 47,300 commercial farms and ranches in Florida (FL) in 2022. When it came to the value of production of “fresh market snap beans, fresh market tomatoes, grapefruit, bell peppers, foliage plants, watermelons, Valencia oranges, floriculture, and sugarcane in 2022,” Florida was the top state in the entire country. Again, in the same year, in terms of the value of production, the state came in second for “oranges, non-Valencia oranges, cucumbers, strawberries, and fresh market sweet corn.” Florida ranked third nationally in fresh market cabbage.
When it comes to veterinary and equine research, Florida leads the country. Florida (FL) is the third-biggest “equestrian state” in the US, home to more than 385,000 horses.
With $1.92 billion in “industrial mineral production,” Florida is ranked fifth in the US in 2015. As to the findings of the “Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute” in 2017, Florida is the leading state in the production of phosphate rock.
For a wide variety of plants and animals, coral reefs generate specialized habitats that serve as “food sources, homes, and breeding grounds.” The only state in the US that has significant shallow coral reef creations close to its coast is Florida (FL). The deep blue waters of the “Atlantic Ocean” and the beautiful turquoise waters of the “Gulf of Mexico” encircle Florida, making it the only state that is largely encircled by both oceans.
In Florida (FL), 738 million gallons of recovered water were utilized for “valuable purposes” used each day in 2015. Florida leads the country in reusing water.
Florida’s DEP claims that the state fulfills all of the EPA’s air quality standards and is a national leader in the “cleanliness of the air.” Achieved through keeping an eye on air quality, “working with regional, national, and local clean air initiatives,” and encouraging pollution avoidance.
There are nine national parks, one-hundred-nineteen state parks, fifty endangered species, and twenty-three “National Wildlife Refuges” in Florida — as discussed over “sciencebase.gov”.
Thousands of saltwater fish and marine invertebrates, over 500 birds, 185 butterflies, 135 “non-oceanic amphibians and reptiles,” 140 freshwater fish, and about 80 mammals are among the natural species of Florida (FL). Florida ranks seventh in the United States for the richest native plant species, with 3,921 species.
The largest public-private partnership program in the US for maintaining wild turkey habitat on wildlife conservation zones and “other public lands accessible for hunting” is located in Florida (FL) and is called the “Wild Turkey Cost Share Program”.
3 NFL clubs, 2 NBA teams, 2 MLB teams, 2 NHL teams, and 2 MLS teams are the 11 “professional” sports teams or groups that call Florida (FL) home. Two significant “NASCAR racetracks” are located in Florida, and both draw sizable crowds of tourists to the state.
ATP and WTA events, the Miami Open and the Delray Beach Open, are held in Florida (FL) each year. More Super Bowls have been held in the state of Florida than in any other state in the union. More than sixty private and public colleges and universities, all of which support and sponsor “collegiate athletic departments,” can be found in Florida.
More than 205,000 military retirees, more than 1.5 million veterans, and “more than 69,000 active-duty military workforce” call Florida home.
*in addition to already provided references the aforesaid data also came from “dos.fl.gov,” “edr.state.fl.us/content/presentations/economic/FlEconomicOverview_1-22-24.pdf,” “edocs.dlis.state.fl.us,” “fldoe.org,” “ftc.state.fl.us,” “floridahealth.gov,” “floridadep.gov,” and “playinflorida.com.”
Official Website of Florida (FL): https://www.myflorida.com/
That’s all friends.
