Greater Miami Fact Sheet

Demographics:

• Greater Miami includes all of Miami-Dade County, an area of more than 2,000 square miles.
• Residents and visitors enjoy plentiful green space and 84 miles of coastline.
• Population is 2.2 million.
• Miami-Dade County's population is 21% White not of Hispanic origin, 21.6 % Black or African American, 57.3% Hispanic or Latino origin.
• Miami-Dade County consists of 31 municipalities and a vast unincorporated area. Each municipality has its own government and provides city services, such as police and zoning protection.
• The three largest cites in Miami-Dade County are Miami (365,204), Hialeah (211,201) and Miami Beach (94,012).

Education Facilities:

• Miami-Dade County has the fourth largest public school district in the United States, with more than 364,000 students.
• More than 80% of graduating seniors continue their education, and approximately 119,656 residents pursue vocational and adult education studies.
• Approximately 113,509 college students are studying at institutions of higher learning.
• Miami-Dade County has many top private and public universities and the nation's largest community college, including:
  
  

  Barry University	Miami Christian University
  Carlos Albizu University
  DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University	Miami-Dade College
  Embry Riddle University	Ai Miami International University of Art & Design
  Florida College of Natural Health	Mackie College Miami
  Florida International University	St. Thomas University
  Florida Memorial College	Talmudic University
  Florida National College	Trinity International University
  Johnson & Wales University
  Jones College	University of Miami



• Miami-Dade Public Library system is the largest in Florida with holdings of more than 3.8 million books, recordings, videotapes, cassettes and CD's.

Economy:

Greater Miami's diversified economy includes manufacturing, service, trade, financial, agriculture, real estate and construction companies. More than 1.1 million people make up Miami-Dade's labor force, which increased by 2.5 percent in the past year. Small businesses, mid-sized companies, Fortune 500 corporations and multinationals have chosen to locate their operations in Miami-Dade County. Altogether, about 68,000 firms are located in the Miami-Dade County area, with new companies opening every day.

• Miami-Dade ranks 5th in the world among telecommunications centers (America's Network Sept. 2000)
• Services, trade and manufacturing are Miami-Dade County's three largest business sectors.
• Biomedical and pharmaceutical firms like Beckman Coulter Crop. and Cordis are among Miami-Dade County's largest maufacturing employers.
• Greater Miami is the acknowledged ”Gateway to the Americas“ and it's strategic location is home to 500 multinational companies that serve North, South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
• It has ranked as the best U.S. city for doing business with Latin America (America Economia, August, 2000).

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY'S TOP 5 EMPLOYERS
Public Sector

• Company Name	Employment
  1. Miami-Dade County Public School	54,387
  2. Miami-Dade County	32,265
  3. Federal Government	20,100
  4. Florida State Government	18,900
  5. Jackson Health System	11,700

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY'S TOP 5 EMPLOYERS
Private Sector

• Company Name	Employment
  1. Baptist Health South Florida	10,300
  2. University of Miami	9,367
  3. American Airlines	9,000
  4. United Parcel Service	5,000
  5. BellSouth	4,800

Major Manufacturers
Ranked by Employment

• Company Name	Employment
  1. Goodwill Industries of South Florida	1,100
  2. STS Apparel Corp of Miami	700
  3. Gator Industries	500
  4. American Woolen Co.	400
  5. Joy Athletic Corp.	400
  6. Sun Manufacturing Corp	350

International Trade:

• Miami-Dade County is an international trading crossroads with imports and exports rising rapidly.
• Sixty percent of all U.S. trade with Central America flows though Miami, 46 of the Caribbean trade and 27 percent of its trade with South America.
• Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Brazil were South Florida's top import partners last year, at more than $7.1 billion total.
• The top exports flowing out of the Miami Customs District are electrical machinery, photography and medical equipment.
• The top imports include accessories and apparel, totaling $24.9 billion in 2000.
• The Miami Free Zone is the world's largest privately owned and operated foreign trade zone. It is also the only FTZ whose charter is held by a chamber of commerce (Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce).
• There are 61 foreign consulates, 25 foreign trade offices and 32 bi-national chambers of commerce located within Miami-Dade.
• Miami-Dade, with over 150 financial institutions and just over 61 billion in deposits, has the largest concentration of banks south of New York City.

Visitor Industry:

• The visitor industry is the county's number one moneymaker, employing approximately 14 percent of Miami-Dade County workers and injecting 13.5 billion into the local economy each year. Countering the nationwide trend, Miami-Dade's tourist figures and dollars rose in 2001.
• More than 10.4 million people, including 5.6 million international travelers, visited Greater Miami in the past year.
• About a third of Miami-Dade's visitors come from Latin America.
• Business travel to Miami-Dade County is on the rise. Business conventions brought in 900,000 delegates to Greater Miami in the past year.
• The total economic impact of business conventions was more than $938 million.

Transportation:

• Miami International Airport has the third highest international passenger traffic in the United States.
• MIA is commonly known as the “Hub of the Americas”, serving as the vital gateway between the U.S. and Latin America offering more flights than all other U.S. airports combined.
• More than 31.6 million passengers streamed through Miami International Airport in the year 2001 and 100 airlines fly out of the airport to 150 destinations worldwide.
• The Port of Miami, known as the “cruise ship capital of the world,” hosted 3.3 million cruise passengers in last year.

Health Industry:

• Miami-Dade County has the largest concentration of medical facilities in Florida, with more than 29,000 health care professionals and 28 hospitals.
• The University of Miami/Jackson Memorial medical Center, the second-largest public hospital in the nation.
• Miami-Dade County has an extensive network of community hospitals, such as Mount Sinai Medical Center, Columbia Cedars Medical Center, Baptist Hospital, Mercy Hospital and Miami Children's Hospital.

Agriculture:

• Miami-Dade County's agricultural industry is comprised of approximately 1,600 farms on 83,000 acres, employing 20,000 workers.
• Reports indicate that the production of fruits, vegetables and ornamental foliage is a billion-dollar industry.
• Greater Miami's tropical crops were valued at $93 million last year.
• South Florida's fruits and vegetables account for half of the nation's supply of winter produce.
• State rankings place Miami-Dade County among the top ten in agricultural production.
• Miami-Dade's ornamental nursery business supply 25% of all foliage sold within the U.S. and supplies a significant market in Europe and the Caribbean.

Culture, Sports & Recreation:

• Outdoor recreational activities like golf, tennis, running, bicycling, roller-blading, boating and fishing can be enjoyed year-round.
• Miami-Dade County offers professional baseball (Florida Marlins), football (Miami Dolphins), basketball (Miami Heat) and hockey (Florida Panthers).

Culture, Sports & Recreation Cont.

• Miami-Dade County has 327 parks and recreational areas totaling 1.05 million acres, including Everglades and Biscayne National Parks.
• Sixteen public golf courses and 590 public tennis courts are available throughout the county.
• The Florida Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, and the Coconut Grove Playhouse are among the area's cultural resources.
• Miami hosts a wide variety of festivals and carnivals including Carnaval Miami, Calle Ocho Festival, Orange Bowl Parade and The Annual Miami Reggae Festival.

Quality of Life

Life in Miami-Dade County combines the advantages of a subtropical resort with a major metropolitan area. White, sandy beaches with palm trees and ocean surf are located just a few minutes from major business, shopping and cultural centers. In addition, Miami-Dade County's unique international culture gives the region a uniquely exciting way of life.

Miami-Dade County Rankings

#1 and #2 for past 4 years as Best City for Doing Business in Latin America – (America Economia 2001, 2002, 2003)

#2 Top City (U.S.) for Hispanics to live – (Hispanic Magazine, August 2004)

#3 Country in the U.S. for Increase of New Businesses – (U.S. Department of Commerce Census Bureau, April 2003)

#1 Healthiest City in the U.S. – (Natural Health Magazine, 2002)

#4 Among Best Cities for Families – (Child.com, 2005)

#1 Miami Children's Hospital rated as top hospital in the state – (Child.com, 2005)