Miami-Dade County, Florida
The county's land area of nearly 2,000 square miles exceeds that of two U.S. states, Delaware and Rhode Island.To the west, the county extends into Everglades National Park and is populated only by a Miccosukee tribal village.[16][17] The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region is from approximately 12,000 years ago.The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did engage in agriculture.[19] Juan Ponce de León was the first European to visit the area in 1513 by sailing into Biscayne Bay.[21] Spanish soldiers led by Father Francisco Villarreal built a Jesuit mission at the mouth of the Miami River a year later but it was short-lived.After the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River.The county's credited father, Richard Fitzpatrick, preferred this name as he was from South Carolina himself; however, when news reached Tallahassee of the Dade Massacre, the Territorial Legislative Council inserted Dade's name instead into a pending bill to create the new county.[26][27][28] The third-costliest natural disaster to occur in the United States was Hurricane Andrew, which hit Miami in the early morning of Monday, August 24, 1992.It is rather new geologically and is at the eastern edge of the Florida Platform, a carbonate plateau created millions of years ago.[73] Miami-Dade has small communities of Brazilians, Portuguese, Spaniards, Ukrainians and Poles along with Canadians (including Francophone from the province of Quebec), French, Germans, other Europeans, British expatriates and Israelis.This was made possible when Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known) to enact a home rule charter.Of the county's 2.6 million total residents (as of 2013), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas, the majority of which are heavily suburbanized.The board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within the county.Florida's Constitution provides for five elected officials to oversee executive and administrative functions for each county (called "Constitutional Officers"): Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, Tax Collector, and Clerk of the Circuit Court (also functions as Comptroller).[87] Instead, the county's law enforcement agency was known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader was known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department; Nonetheless, its badges beared the inscription, "Deputy Sheriff, Sheriff's Office, Dade County, FLA." Miami-Dade County has voted for the Democratic Party candidate in most of the presidential elections in the past four decades, and had gone Democratic in every election since 1992, until 2024, when it voted for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris.In the 2018 midterms, neither Nelson nor Gillum were able to replicate Clinton's margin in the county, resulting in both of them losing narrowly statewide.The trend would continue in 2020, Democrat Joe Biden only won 53.31% of the vote, winning the county by just over seven percent over Republican Donald Trump.Brightstar Corporation,[96] Burger King,[97] Intradeco Holdings,[98] Latin Flavors,[99] Norwegian Cruise Line,[100] Lennar and Ryder have their headquarters in unincorporated areas in the county.[102][103][104][105][106] Hewlett Packard's main Latin America offices are on the ninth floor of the Waterford Building in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.[120] According to Miami's Beacon Council, the top private employers in 2014 in Miami-Dade were:[121] According to Miami's Beacon Council, the top government employers in 2014 in the county were:[121] Most of the state's summer okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is grown here,[122] totalling 1,000 to 1,500 acres (400 to 610 ha) over the whole year.Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (MDWASD) is one of the largest public utilities in the United States, employing approximately 2,700 employees as of 2007.Of that amount, approximately $34.7 million was authorized for public libraries, including construction, renovation, land acquisition, furnishings, and equipment.[137] On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew inflicted significant damage on the library system, destroying all branches south of Kendall Drive.Some of these sports facilities are: Former venues include: Planned: Miami International Airport (IATA: MIA, ICAO: KMIA, FAA LID: MIA), in an unincorporated area in central Miami-Dade County, is the Miami area's primary international airport.MDT operates Metrorail, a heavy rail rapid transit system; Metromover, an elevated people mover servicing Downtown Miami, the Brickell financial district and the Arts & Entertainment District; and Metrobus, the county-wide bus system.Miami-Dade County is also serviced by the Tri-Rail commuter rail service connecting locations in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and the Amtrak and Brightline intercity rail systems, all of which connect at various locations to Metrorail and other parts of the MDT network.Companies providing intercity bus service in Miami-Dade County include FlixBus, Greyhound Lines and Megabus.The Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) is an intermodal rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, local bus, intercity bus and vehicle rental transportation hub just east of Miami International Airport and connected to the airport via an automated people mover.[148] The new grid was later extended throughout the county as the population grew west, south, and north of city limits.
CountyDowntown Miami SkylineSouth BeachOcean Drive (South Beach)Venetian PoolCoral GablesAnhinga TrailEverglades National ParkKaseya CenterBiscayne BoulevardBiscayne National ParkUnited StatesFloridaSouth FloridaNamed forFrancis L. DadeMiami RiverMayaimiCounty seatMiami-Dade Board of County CommissionersOliver GilbertKionne McGheeRené GarcíaMayor of Miami-Dade CountyDaniella Levine CavaMiami Rock RidgeAtlantic OceanDemonymTime zoneUTC−5Eastern Time ZoneUTC−4Eastern Daylight TimeZIP CodesArea codesU.S. state2020 censusseventh-most-populous county in the United Statesnation's ninth-largestworld's 65th-largestexceeding the population of 31 of the nation's 50 statesgross domestic product14th-largestPort of MiamiBiscayne BayMiami International AirportDelawareRhode IslandFlorida International UniversityUniversity of Miamiprivateresearch universityHispanicmajority-Hispanic county in the nationincorporated citiesunincorporated areasurbanizedhigh-rise buildingsCentral Business Districtdowntown MiamiRedlandHomesteadMiccosukeeHistory of MiamiNational Register of Historic Places listings in Miami-Dade County, FloridaNative AmericanTequestaBroward CountyPalm Beach CountyMiami CircleJuan Ponce de LeónPedro Menéndez de AviléssmallpoxHavanaBahamasFlorida ReefSeminoleSecond Seminole WarWilliam S. HarneyFort DallasJulia TuttleDade BattlefieldThomas PinckneySouth CarolinaTreaty of San LorenzoDade MassacrePalm BeachBrowardFlorida KeysBahia Honda KeyIndian KeyKey LargoMonroe CountyJuno Beach, Floridanatural disasterHurricane AndrewKendallCutler RidgeCutler BaybillionHurricane Katrinahome ruleFlorida LegislatureU.S. Census Bureauabove sea levelFlorida PlatformcarbonateOolitelimestoneBryozoaPleistoceneMiami BeachArt DecoWest Palm BeachFort LauderdaleList of communities in Miami-Dade County, Floridacensus-designated placesunincorporatedCollier CountyBig Cypress National PreserveHispanic or LatinoBlack or African AmericanSome other raceTwo or more racesAmerican Community SurveyEnglish