Miami-Dade County, Florida
Encyclopedia
Miami-Dade County is a county
located in the southeastern part of the state
of Florida
. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States. It is also Florida's third largest county in terms of land area, with 1,946 square miles. The county's population makes up approximately half of the South Florida metropolitan area
population and holds several of the principal cities of South Florida. The county seat
is Miami.
The county is home to 35 incorporated cities
and many unincorporated area
s. The northern, central and eastern portions of the county are heavily urbanized
with many high rise
s up the coastline, as well as the location of South Florida's central business district
, Downtown Miami
. Southern Miami-Dade County includes the Redland
and Homestead
areas, which make up the agricultural economy of Miami. Agricultural Redland makes up roughly one third of Miami-Dade County's inhabited land area, and is sparsely populated, a stark contrast to the densely populated, urban northern Miami-Dade County. The western portion of the county extends into the Everglades National Park
and is populated only by a Miccosukee
Tribal village. East of the mainland in Biscayne Bay
is also Biscayne National Park
.
, with the main villages on the northern banks.
The inhabitants at the time of first Europe
an contact were the Tequesta
people, who controlled much of southeastern Florida, including what is now Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the southern part of Palm Beach County. The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did not practice any form of agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put the larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle
.
was the first European to visit the area in 1513 by sailing into Biscayne Bay
. His journal records that he reached Chequescha, which was Miami's first recorded name. It is unknown whether he came ashore or made contact with the Indians. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
and his men made the first recorded landing when they visited the Tequesta
settlement in 1566 while looking for Avilés' missing son, shipwrecked a year earlier. 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 Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fend themselves from European-introduced diseases like smallpox
. By 1711, the Tequesta sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana
, Cuba
, to ask if they could migrate there. The Cubans sent two ships to help them, but Spanish illnesses struck and most of the Indians died.
The first permanent European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. People came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys
to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef. Some accepted Spanish land offers along the Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole
Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War
, during which Major William S. Harney
led several raids against the Indians. Most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas
. It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in the Miami area.
After the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English, re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River. He charted the “Village of Miami” on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. In 1844, Miami became the county seat, and six years later a census reported that there were ninety-six residents living in the area. The Third Seminole War was not as destructive as the second one. Even so, it slowed down the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed.
Dade County was created on January 18, 1836, under the Territorial Act of the United States. The county was named after Major Francis L. Dade
, a soldier killed in 1835 in the Second Seminole War
, at what has since been named the Dade Battlefield
. At the time of its creation, Dade County included the land that now contains Palm Beach
and Broward
counties, together with the Florida Keys
from Bahia Honda Key
north and the land of present day Miami-Dade County. The county seat was originally at Indian Key in the Florida Keys, then in 1844, the County seat was moved to Miami
. The Florida Keys from Key Largo
to Bahia Honda were returned to Monroe County
in 1866. In 1888 the county seat was moved to Juno, near present-day Juno Beach, Florida
, returning to Miami in 1899. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed from the northern portion of what was then Dade County, and then in 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create what is now Broward County. There have been no significant boundary changes to the county since 1915.
The second-costliest natural disaster
to occur in the United States
was Hurricane Andrew
, which hit Miami early Monday morning on August 24, 1992. It struck the central part of the county from due east, south of Miami and very near Homestead
, Kendall
, and Cutler Ridge (now the Town of Cutler Bay
). Damages numbered over US$25 billion
in the county alone, and recovery has taken years in these areas where the destruction was greatest. This was the costliest natural disaster in US history until Hurricane Katrina
struck the Gulf region in 2005.
.
, a carbonate
plateau created millions of years ago. Eastern Dade is composed of Oolite
limestone
while western Dade is composed mostly of Bryozoa
. Miami-Dade is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene
.
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 2431.26 square miles (6,296.9 km²), of which 1946.06 square miles (5,040.3 km²) (or 80.04%) is land and 485.19 square miles (1,256.6 km²) (or 19.96%) is water, most of which is Biscayne Bay
, with another significant portion in the adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean
.
The bay
is divided from the Atlantic Ocean by the many barrier isles along the coast, one of which is where well-known Miami Beach is located, home to South Beach
and the Art Deco
district. The Florida Keys
, which are also barrier islands are only accessible through Miami-Dade County, but which are otherwise part of neighboring Monroe County
.
in the United States that borders two national park
s. Biscayne National Park
is located east of the mainland, in Biscayne Bay
, and the western third of Miami-Dade County lies within Everglades National Park
. The northwest portion of the county contains a small part of the Big Cypress National Preserve
.
Miami-Dade County includes 35 incorporated areas, 38 Census-designated places, and 16 unincorporated
regions.
of 2000, there were 2,253,362 people, 776,774 households, and 548,402 families residing in the county. The population density
was 1,158 people per square mile (447/km2). There were 852,278 housing units at an average density of 438 per square mile (169/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 69.7% White
(20.7% Non-Hispanic White), 20.3% African American
and Black
(with a large part being of Caribbean
descent), 0.20% Native American
, 1.4% Asian
, 0.01% Pacific Islander
, 4.60% from other races
, and 3.80% from two or more races. 57.3% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race. In relation to ancestry (excluding the various Hispanic
and Latino
ancestries), 5% were Haiti
an, 5% American
, 2% Italian
, 2% Jamaica
n, 2% German, 2% Irish
, and 2% English
ancestry.
1,147,765 of Miami-Dade residents, or 50.9 percent of the total population, were foreign-born, a percentage greater than that of any other county in the United States. 47% of the foreign-born population were naturalized U.S. citizens. Among the foreign-born population, the most common countries of origin were Cuba
(42%), Nicaragua
(16%), Colombia
(6%), Haiti
(6%), the Dominican Republic
(3%), and Jamaica
(3%).
There were 776,774 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples
living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.35.
The age distribution is 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,966, and the median income for a family was $40,260. Males had a median income of $30,120 versus $24,686 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $18,497. About 14.5% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.
U.S. Census Bureau 2008 Ethnic/Race Demographics:
According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, when compared to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Hispanic population grew 5.1%, the Black population dropped 0.8%, the White (non-Hispanic) population dropped 2.9%, and the Asian population grew 0.2%.
at home; 59.25% spoke Spanish
, 4.12% French Creole
, 0.89% French
, and 0.67% spoke Portuguese
as their mother language. 50.9% of the county residents were born outside the United States
, while 67.90% of the population
spoke a language other than English at home.
, Burger King
, Intradeco Holdings
, Latin Flavors
, Norwegian Cruise Line
, and Ryder
have their headquarters in unincorporated area
s in the county. Centurion Air Cargo
, Florida West International Airways
, and IBC Airways
have their headquarters on the grounds of Miami International Airport
in an unincorporated area in the county.
has its Latin American headquarters in an unincorporated area. Gate Group
has its Latin American headquarters in an unincorporated area. Unicomer Group
has its United States offices in an unincorporated area. TAME
has its United States offices in an unincorporated area.
, Arrow Air
, and National Airlines (NA)
, were headquartered on or near the airport property.
After Frank Borman became president of Eastern Airlines in 1975, he moved Eastern's headquarters from Rockefeller Center
in Midtown Manhattan
, New York City
to an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County Around 1991 the Miami-Dade County lost a few corporations, including Eastern Airlines, which folded in 1991.
At one time the cruise line ResidenSea had its headquarters in an unincorporated area in the county.
s within the county are the Consulate-General of Honduras
, the Consulate-General of Nicaragua, and the Consulate-General of Panama
.
," since 1957. This was made possible when Florida
voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known then) to enact a home rule
charter
. Prior to this year, home rule did not exist in Florida
, and all counties were limited to the same set of powers by the Florida Constitution
and state law
. Mattie Belle Davis
, the first woman from Florida
elected to the American Bar Foundation
and the second woman to be elected in the US, was the first woman judge of Metropolitan Court of Dade County, Florida.
Unlike a consolidated city-county
, where the city
and county governments merge into a single entity, these two entities remain separate. Instead there are two "tiers", or levels, of government: city and county. There are 35 municipalities
in the county, the City of Miami
being the largest.
Cities are the "lower tier" of local government, providing police
and fire protection, zoning and code enforcement, and other typical city services within their jurisdiction. These services are paid for by city taxes. The County is the "upper tier", and it provides services of a metropolitan nature, such as emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal etc. These are funded by county taxes, which are assessed on all incorporated and unincorporated areas.
Of the county's 2.2 million total residents (as of 2000), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas, the majority of which are heavily urbanized. These residents are part of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA). For these residents, the County fills the role of both lower- and upper-tier government, the County Commission acting as their lower-tier municipal representative body. Residents within UMSA pay a UMSA tax, equivalent to a city tax, which is used to provide County residents with equivalent city services (police, fire, zoning, water and sewer, etc.). Residents of incorporated areas do not pay UMSA tax.
The Executive Mayor of Miami-Dade County is elected countywide to serve a four-year term. The Mayor is not a member of the County Commission. The Mayor appoints a County Manager
, with approval and consent of the Board of County Commissioners, to oversee the operations of the County Departments. The Mayor has veto
power over the Commission. The post is filled by Carlos A. Gimenez
.
The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body, consisting of 13 members elected from single-member districts. Members are elected to serve four-year terms, and elections of members are staggered. The Board chooses a Chairperson, who presides over the Commission, as well as appoints the members of its legislative committees. The Board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within the County. It also has the power to override the Mayor's veto
with a two-thirds vote.
The election of Commissioners from single member districts came to be in 1992 after a group led by attorney and then Dade County Commissioner Arthur E. Teele, Jr. with the support of some African American and Hispanic civic leaders, challenged the at large election system in the courts, arguing that the present system did not allow for the election of minority commissioners, despite the fact that African American Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler had been elected several times. The court, under the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Donald Graham, created the single member district election system.
Florida
's Constitution
provides for four elected officials to oversee executive and administrative functions for each county (called "Constitutional Officers"): Sheriff
, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector. However, the current Constitution allows voters in home-rule counties (including Miami-Dade) to abolish the offices and reorganize them as subordinate County departments; Miami-Dade voters chose this option.
The most visible distinction between Miami-Dade and other Florida counties is the title of its law enforcement agency. It is the only county in Florida that does not have an elected sheriff, or an agency titled "Sheriff's Office." Instead the equivalent agency is known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader is known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department. The judicial offices of Clerk of the Circuit Court
, State Attorney, and Public Defender
are still branches of State government and are therefore independently elected and not part of County government.
and emergency medical services
for Miami-Dade County, Florida. The department serves 28 municipalities and all unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County from 60 fire stations. The Department also provides fire protection services for Miami International Airport
, Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
and Opa-Locka Airport
.
The communities served are Aventura
, Bal Harbour
, Bay Harbor Islands
, Biscayne Park
, Doral
, El Portal
, Florida City
, Golden Beach
, Hialeah Gardens
, Homestead
, Indian Creek
, Islandia
, Medley
, Miami Lakes
, Miami Shores
, Miami Springs
, North Bay Village
, North Miami
, North Miami Beach
, Opa-locka
, Palmetto Bay
, Pinecrest
, South Miami
, Surfside
, Sweetwater, Sunny Isles Beach
, Virginia Gardens
, and West Miami
.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is also the home to Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1
as well as EMS operations consisting of 57 Advanced Life Support units staffed by 760 state-certified paramedics and 640 state-certified emergency medical technicians.
The Miami-Dade Police Department is a full service metropolitan police department
serving Miami-Dade County's unincorporated areas, although they have lenient mutual aid agreements with other municipalities, most often the City of Miami Police Department
. The Miami-Dade Police Department is the largest police department in the state of Florida
with over 4,700 employees. The Department is still often referred by its former name, the Metro-Dade Police or simply Metro.
The Miami-Dade Police Department operate out of nine districts throughout Miami-Dade County and have two special bureaus. The current director of the department is James Loftus, who succeeded Robert Parker. The Department's headquarters are located in Doral, Florida
.
operates the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center in an unincorporated area
in the county.
In Florida, each county is also a school district
. Miami-Dade County Public Schools
, is operated by an independently-elected School Board
. A professional Superintendent of Schools
manages the day-to-day operations of the district, who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the School Board. The Miami-Dade County Public School District
is currently the fourth-largest public school district in the nation with almost 400,000 students in 2007/2008.
The Miami-Dade Public Library
is one of the largest public library systems in the country, comprising 42 branch locations, and 8 branch locations currently being built/not officially opened.
Miami International Airport
, located in an unincorporated area
in the county, serves as the primary international airport of the Miami Area. One of the busiest international airports in the world, Miami International Airport caters to over 35 million passengers a year. Identifiable locally, as well as several worldwide authorities, as MIA or KMIA, the airport is a major hub and the single largest international gateway for American Airlines
, the world’s largest passenger air carrier. Miami International is the United States’ third largest international port of entry for foreign air passengers (behind New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport
and Los Angeles International Airport
), and is the seventh largest such gateway in the world. The airport’s extensive international route network includes non-stop flights to over seventy international cities in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
General aviation airports in the county include Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
in an unincorporated area, Opa-Locka Airport
in Opa-Locka
, and Homestead General Aviation Airport
in an unincorporated area west of Homestead
. Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base, east of Homestead in an unincorporated area, serves military traffic.
, and is the largest public transit in Florida. Miami-Dade Transit operates a heavy rail metro
system Metrorail
, an elevated people mover
in Downtown Miami
, Metromover
and the bus system, Metrobus. Currently, expansion of Metrorail is underway with the construction of the AirportLink to Miami International Airport
.
In Florida a Tolled State Road is often (but not always) denoted by having the word "TOLL" printed on the top of the State Road shield.
When a driver passes through a toll plaza without paying the proper toll a digital image of the cars license tag is recorded. Under Florida Law, this image can be used by the Authority to issue a toll violation.
Miami-Dade County has 10 major expressways and 1 minor expressway in Downtown Miami
.
stretches from downtown Miami throughout the county. This grid was adopted by the City of Miami following World War I
after the United States Post Office threatened to cease mail deliveries in the city because the original system of named streets, with names often changing every few blocks and multiple streets in the city sharing the same name, was too confusing for the mail carriers. The new grid was later extended throughout the county as the population grew west, south, and north of city limits. The grid is laid out with Miami Avenue as the meridian going North-South and Flagler Street the baseline
going east-west. The grid is primarily numerical so that, for example, all street addresses north of Flagler and west of Miami Avenue have NW in their address (e.g. NW 27th Avenue). Because its point of origin is in downtown Miami which is close to the coast, the NW and SW quadrants are much larger than the SE and NE quadrants. Many roads, especially major ones, are also named, although, with a few notable exceptions, the number is in more common usage among locals. Although this grid is easy to understand once one is oriented to it, it is not universal in the entire county. Hialeah uses its own grid system which is entirely different in its orientation. Coral Gables and Miami Lakes use named streets almost exclusively, and various smaller municipalities such as Florida City and Homestead use their own grid system along with the Miami-Dade grid system adding to the confusion. Miami Beach has its own system of numbered streets without compass directions.
Miami-Dade County holds the majority of sports arenas, stadiums and complexes in South Florida. Some of these sports facilities are:
Former venues include:
:
County (United States)
In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
located in the southeastern part of the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States. It is also Florida's third largest county in terms of land area, with 1,946 square miles. The county's population makes up approximately half of the South Florida metropolitan area
South Florida metropolitan area
The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
population and holds several of the principal cities of South Florida. The county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is Miami.
The county is home to 35 incorporated cities
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and many unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
s. The northern, central and eastern portions of the county are heavily urbanized
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
with many high rise
High Rise
High Rise is a 1975 novel by J. G. Ballard. It takes place in an ultra-modern, luxury high-rise building.-Plot summary:The building seems to give its well-established tenants all the conveniences and commodities that modern life has to offer: swimming pools, its own school, a supermarket,...
s up the coastline, as well as the location of South Florida's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
. Southern Miami-Dade County includes the Redland
Redland, Florida
Redland, sometimes pluralized The Redlands, is an agricultural community in metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States, about southwest of Downtown Miami. Many farms, original clapboard homes of early settlers, u-pick'em fields and coral rock walls dot the landscape. It is named for the red clay...
and Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
areas, which make up the agricultural economy of Miami. Agricultural Redland makes up roughly one third of Miami-Dade County's inhabited land area, and is sparsely populated, a stark contrast to the densely populated, urban northern Miami-Dade County. The western portion of the county extends into the Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
and is populated only by a Miccosukee
Miccosukee
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving federal recognition in 1962...
Tribal village. East of the mainland in Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
is also Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive...
.
Pre-European contact
The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region came from about 12,000 years ago. The first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami RiverMiami River (Florida)
The Miami River is a river in the United States state of Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through the Downtown and the city of Miami. The long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
, with the main villages on the northern banks.
The inhabitants at the time of first Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an contact were the Tequesta
Tequesta
The Tequesta Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida...
people, who controlled much of southeastern Florida, including what is now Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the southern part of Palm Beach County. The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did not practice any form of agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put the larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle
Miami Circle
The Miami Circle, also known as The Miami River Circle, Brickell Point, or The Miami Circle at Brickell Point Site, is an archaeological site in Downtown Miami, Florida...
.
European contact
Juan Ponce de LeónJuan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...
was the first European to visit the area in 1513 by sailing into Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
. His journal records that he reached Chequescha, which was Miami's first recorded name. It is unknown whether he came ashore or made contact with the Indians. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...
and his men made the first recorded landing when they visited the Tequesta
Tequesta
The Tequesta Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida...
settlement in 1566 while looking for Avilés' missing son, shipwrecked a year earlier. 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 Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fend themselves from European-introduced diseases like smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. By 1711, the Tequesta sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, to ask if they could migrate there. The Cubans sent two ships to help them, but Spanish illnesses struck and most of the Indians died.
The first permanent European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. People came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef. Some accepted Spanish land offers along the Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
, during which Major William S. Harney
William S. Harney
William Selby Harney was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and the Indian Wars. He was born in what is today part of Nashville, Tennessee but at the time was known as Haysborough....
led several raids against the Indians. Most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas
Fort Dallas
Fort Dallas is a urban park in the Lummus Park Historic District of Miami, Florida, just west of Downtown. It once acted as a military base during the Seminole Wars, located on the banks of the Miami River in what is now Downtown, Miami, Florida, United States....
. It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in the Miami area.
After the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English, re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River. He charted the “Village of Miami” on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. In 1844, Miami became the county seat, and six years later a census reported that there were ninety-six residents living in the area. The Third Seminole War was not as destructive as the second one. Even so, it slowed down the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed.
Birth of Dade County
Francis L. Dade
Francis Langhorne Dade was a Major in the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, during the Second Seminole War. Dade was killed in a battle with Seminole Indians that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre"...
, a soldier killed in 1835 in the Second Seminole War
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
, at what has since been named the Dade Battlefield
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park is a Florida State Park located on County Road 603 between I-75 and U.S. 301. The park includes of pine flatwoods and a live oak hammock. Also called the Dade Massacre site, It preserves the Second Seminole War battlefield where Seminole Indian warriors...
. At the time of its creation, Dade County included the land that now contains Palm Beach
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
and Broward
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
counties, together with the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
from Bahia Honda Key
Bahia Honda Key
Bahia Honda , is an island in the lower Florida Keys.U.S...
north and the land of present day Miami-Dade County. The county seat was originally at Indian Key in the Florida Keys, then in 1844, the County seat was moved to Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. The Florida Keys from Key Largo
Key Largo
Key Largo is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and, at long, the largest of the Keys. It is also the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the Keys connected by U.S. Highway 1...
to Bahia Honda were returned to Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
in 1866. In 1888 the county seat was moved to Juno, near present-day Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,262 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 3,391. Juno Beach is home to the headquarters of Florida Power & Light...
, returning to Miami in 1899. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed from the northern portion of what was then Dade County, and then in 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create what is now Broward County. There have been no significant boundary changes to the county since 1915.
The second-costliest natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
to occur in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
, which hit Miami early Monday morning on August 24, 1992. It struck the central part of the county from due east, south of Miami and very near Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
, Kendall
Kendall, Florida
Kendall is a suburban neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....
, and Cutler Ridge (now the Town of Cutler Bay
Cutler Bay, Florida
Cutler Bay, historically called Cutler Ridge, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida from SW 184th Street east of US-1 to the coast, and north of Black Point Marina, at...
). Damages numbered over US$25 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
in the county alone, and recovery has taken years in these areas where the destruction was greatest. This was the costliest natural disaster in US history until Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
struck the Gulf region in 2005.
Name change
On November 13, 1997, voters changed the name of the county from Dade to Miami-Dade to acknowledge the international name recognition of MiamiMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
Physical geography
Miami-Dade County is close to sea level in elevation averaging about 6 feet (1.8 m) above sea level. It is rather new geologically and located at the eastern edge of the Florida PlatformFlorida Platform
The Florida Platform is a flat geological feature with the emergent portion being the Florida peninsula.-Structure:The platform forms a rampart between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The platform's western edge, or Florida Escarpment, is normally defined with water depths at 300 feet...
, a carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
plateau created millions of years ago. Eastern Dade is composed of Oolite
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
while western Dade is composed mostly of Bryozoa
Bryozoa
The Bryozoa, also known as Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals, are a phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals. Typically about long, they are filter feeders that sieve food particles out of the water using a retractable lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles lined with cilia...
. Miami-Dade is among the last areas of Florida to be created and populated with fauna and flora, mostly in the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
.
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
, with another significant portion in the adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
The bay
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
is divided from the Atlantic Ocean by the many barrier isles along the coast, one of which is where well-known Miami Beach is located, home to South Beach
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...
and the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
district. The Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
, which are also barrier islands are only accessible through Miami-Dade County, but which are otherwise part of neighboring Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
.
Population
Miami is the largest city within Miami-Dade County as well as the county seat, with an estimated population of 424,662. Miami is the only metropolitan areaMetropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
in the United States that borders two national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s. Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive...
is located east of the mainland, in Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
, and the western third of Miami-Dade County lies within Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
. The northwest portion of the county contains a small part of the Big Cypress National Preserve
Big Cypress National Preserve
Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in southern Florida, about 45 miles west of Miami. The Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, became the first national preserves in the United States National Park System when they were...
.
Communities
Miami-Dade County includes 35 incorporated areas, 38 Census-designated places, and 16 unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
regions.
Adjacent counties
- Broward County, FloridaBroward County, Florida-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
- north - Monroe County, FloridaMonroe County, FloridaMonroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
- south and west - Collier County, FloridaCollier County, FloridaCollier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839...
- northwest
Demographics
2000 U.S. Census
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 2,253,362 people, 776,774 households, and 548,402 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,158 people per square mile (447/km2). There were 852,278 housing units at an average density of 438 per square mile (169/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 69.7% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
(20.7% Non-Hispanic White), 20.3% African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
and Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
(with a large part being of Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
descent), 0.20% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.4% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.01% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 4.60% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.80% from two or more races. 57.3% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race. In relation to ancestry (excluding the various Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
and Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
ancestries), 5% were Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an, 5% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 2% Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, 2% Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n, 2% German, 2% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, and 2% English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
ancestry.
1,147,765 of Miami-Dade residents, or 50.9 percent of the total population, were foreign-born, a percentage greater than that of any other county in the United States. 47% of the foreign-born population were naturalized U.S. citizens. Among the foreign-born population, the most common countries of origin were Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(42%), Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
(16%), Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
(6%), Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
(6%), the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
(3%), and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
(3%).
There were 776,774 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.35.
The age distribution is 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,966, and the median income for a family was $40,260. Males had a median income of $30,120 versus $24,686 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $18,497. About 14.5% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.
2008 U.S. Census estimates
- White (non-Hispanic):White AmericanWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
17.8% - Black (non-Hispanic)African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
: 19.5% - Hispanics or LatinosHispanic and Latino AmericansHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
of any race: 62.4% - AsianAsian AmericanAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
: 1.6% - Two or more races: 1.0%
- Some other race: 5.6%
- American Indian and Alaska NativeNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
: 0.3% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific IslanderPacific Islander AmericanPacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
: 0.1%
According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, when compared to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Hispanic population grew 5.1%, the Black population dropped 0.8%, the White (non-Hispanic) population dropped 2.9%, and the Asian population grew 0.2%.
| Population | Miami-Dade |
|---|---|
| 2030 Projection | 3,196,805 |
| 2025 Projection | 3,019,785 |
| 2010 Projection | 2,551,284 |
| 2006 Estimate | 2,402,208 |
| 2000 Census | 2,253,485 |
| 1990 Census | 1,967,000 |
Languages
As of 2000, 32.09% of the population spoke only EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at home; 59.25% spoke Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, 4.12% French Creole
French-based creole languages
A French Creole, or French-based Creole language, is a creole language based on the French language, more specifically on a 17th century koiné French extant in Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the nascent French colonies...
, 0.89% French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and 0.67% spoke Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
as their mother language. 50.9% of the county residents were born outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while 67.90% of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
spoke a language other than English at home.
Economy
Corporate headquarters
Brightstar CorporationBrightstar Corporation
Brightstar Corp, founded in 1997, is a U.S. based privately held corporation that provides logistical services and supply chain management within the wireless telecommunications industry. The company's headquarters is located in suburban unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida in Miami, Florida...
, Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, Intradeco Holdings
Intradeco Holdings
Intradeco Apparel is a privately owned vertical manufacturer and supplier of knit apparel to retailers in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It is the only vertical resource in Central America spinning certified raw bales of organic cotton...
, Latin Flavors
Latin Flavors
Latin Flavors is a Hispanic manufacturer of frozen foods sold throughout the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida...
, Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...
, and Ryder
Ryder
Ryder System, Inc. , or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products, and is especially known for its fleet of rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage. Ryder operates in North...
have their headquarters in unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
s in the county. Centurion Air Cargo
Centurion Air Cargo
Centurion Air Cargo is a cargo airline with its headquarters in Building 706 on the grounds of Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. It operates all-cargo services to Central America and South America, serving 16 scheduled destinations. It specializes in...
, Florida West International Airways
Florida West International Airways
Florida West International Airways is an American cargo airline based on the grounds of Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. It operates scheduled and charter services worldwide, with its main markets in Latin America, the Caribbean and the USA...
, and IBC Airways
IBC Airways
IBC Airways is an FAR Part 135 on-demand airline headquartered at 500 NW 34 ST, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315. IBC Airways operates on-demand cargo services to the Caribbean. Its main bases are Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport...
have their headquarters on the grounds of Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
in an unincorporated area in the county.
Domestic operations
Hewlett Packard's main Latin America offices are located on the ninth floor of the Waterford Building in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.Foreign operations
AstraZenecaAstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc is a global pharmaceutical and biologics company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's seventh-largest pharmaceutical company measured by revenues and has operations in over 100 countries...
has its Latin American headquarters in an unincorporated area. Gate Group
Gate Group
gategroup is the parent company for eleven brands that provide services to the travel industry, including catering, hospitality, provisioning and logistics. Its head office is at Zurich Airport....
has its Latin American headquarters in an unincorporated area. Unicomer Group
Unicomer Group
Regal Forest Holding Co. Ltd., operating as Unicomer Group , is a Central American furniture and appliance chain with headquarters in El Salvador. The Unicomer Group operates over 430 stores in Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States and employs 9,000. As of 2010 Mario Siman is the...
has its United States offices in an unincorporated area. TAME
Tame
Tame may refer to:*Taming, the act of domesticating wild animals*River Tame, Greater Manchester*River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley*Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality...
has its United States offices in an unincorporated area.
Former economic operations
Several defunct airlines, including Airlift InternationalAirlift International
Airlift International was based in the USA and operated from its inception in 1945 until June 1991. Airlift's headquarters were on the grounds of Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.- History :...
, Arrow Air
Arrow Air
Arrow Cargo was an American cargo airline based in Building 712 on the grounds of Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. It operated over 90 weekly scheduled cargo flights, and had a strong charter business. Its main base was Miami International Airport...
, and National Airlines (NA)
National Airlines (NA)
National Airlines was an airline founded in 1934 and was headquartered on the grounds of Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States near Miami.- History :...
, were headquartered on or near the airport property.
After Frank Borman became president of Eastern Airlines in 1975, he moved Eastern's headquarters from Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County Around 1991 the Miami-Dade County lost a few corporations, including Eastern Airlines, which folded in 1991.
At one time the cruise line ResidenSea had its headquarters in an unincorporated area in the county.
Top private employers
According to Miami's Beacon Council, the top private employers in 2008 in Miami-Dade were:| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Publix Super Markets | 11,000 |
| 2 | Baptist Health South Florida Baptist Hospital of Miami Baptist Hospital of Miami is a non-profit hospital located in Miami, Florida, United States operated by Baptist Health South Florida.Founded in 1960, the 650 bed facility is now one of the largest hospitals in the Miami area... |
10,826 |
| 3 | University of Miami University of Miami The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12... |
9,874 |
| 4 | American Airlines American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport... |
9,000 |
| 5 | Precision Response Corporation Precision Response Corporation Precision Response Corporation is primarily an operator of outsourced call centers. Precision Response Corporation was the fifth largest employer in Miami-Dade County in 2007 with over 6,000 employees.... |
6,000 |
| 6 | Bellsouth BellSouth BellSouth Corporation is an American telecommunications holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth was one of the seven original Regional Bell Operating Companies after the U.S... |
5,500 |
| 7 | Winn-Dixie Stores | 4,833 |
| 8 | Florida Power & Light Company | 3,900 |
| 9 | Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc... |
3,500 |
| 10 | Macy's Florida | 3,368 |
Top public employers
According to Miami's Beacon Council, the top public employers in 2008 in Miami-Dade were:| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 380,006 as of July 5, 2010... |
50,000 |
| 2 | Miami-Dade County | 32,000 |
| 3 | U.S. Federal Government | 20,400 |
| 4 | Florida State Government Government of Florida The government of Florida is a constitutional republic with three branches of government, including the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the legislative branch, the Florida Legislature, consisting of the Senate and... |
17,000 |
| 5 | Jackson Health Systems Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital is a non-profit, tertiary care teaching hospital and the major teaching hospital of the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida... |
5,500 |
| 6 | Miami Dade College Miami Dade College Miami Dade College, or simply Miami Dade or MDC, is a state college with eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers located throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Florida College System. Miami Dade College is the largest school in the Florida College... |
6,500 |
| 7 | City of Miami City of Miami This article is about the streamliner. For the city in Florida, see Miami.The City of Miami was a seven-car coach streamliner inaugurated by Illinois Central Railroad on December 18, 1940. Its route was from Chicago to Miami a total distance of .... |
4,034 |
| 8 | Florida International University Florida International University Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park... |
3,132 |
| 9 | VA Medical Center | 2,300 |
| 10 | City of Miami Beach | 1,979 |
Diplomatic missions
Several consulates are located in Miami-Dade County. Those in unincorporated areaUnincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
s within the county are the Consulate-General of Honduras
Diplomatic missions of Honduras
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Honduras, excluding honorary consulates. Honduras is a Central American country.-Europe:** Brussels ** Paris ** Berlin ** Hamburg ** Vatican City...
, the Consulate-General of Nicaragua, and the Consulate-General of Panama
Diplomatic missions of Panama
This is a list of diplomatic missions of Panama, excluding honorary consulates. Panama's status as major flag state for maritime vessels and owner of the Panama Canal has led to Panama opening missions in cities with significant harbour traffic, such as Rotterdam, Tampa and Kobe.-Europe:** Vienna...
.
Law and government
Miami-Dade County has operated under a unique metropolitan system of government, a "two-tier federationFederation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
," since 1957. This was made possible when Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known then) to enact a home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
. Prior to this year, home rule did not exist in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and all counties were limited to the same set of powers by the Florida Constitution
Florida Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....
and state law
State law
In the United States, state law is the law of each separate U.S. state, as passed by the state legislature and adjudicated by state courts. It exists in parallel, and sometimes in conflict with, United States federal law. These disputes are often resolved by the federal courts.-See also:*List of U.S...
. Mattie Belle Davis
Mattie Belle Davis
Mattie Belle Davis was a judge and the first woman from Florida elected to the American Bar Foundation and the second woman to be elected in the US....
, the first woman from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
elected to the American Bar Foundation
American Bar Foundation
Established in 1952, the ' is an independent, nonprofit national research institute located in Chicago, Illinois committed to objective empirical research on law and legal institutions...
and the second woman to be elected in the US, was the first woman judge of Metropolitan Court of Dade County, Florida.
Division between county and municipality politics
| Year | Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
Democrat Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 41.6% 358,256 | 58.1% 497,386 |
| 2004 | 46.6% 361,095 | 52.9% 409,732 |
| 2000 | 46.3% 289,574 | 52.6% 328,867 |
| 1996 | 37.9% 209,740 | 57.3% 317,555 |
| 1992 | 43.2% 235,313 | 46.7% 254,609 |
| 1988 | 55.3% 270,937 | 44.3% 216,970 |
| 1984 | 59.2% 144,281 | 40.8% 223,863 |
| 1980 | 50.7% 265,888 | 40.2% 210,868 |
| 1976 | 40.5% 211,148 | 58.1% 303,047 |
| 1972 | 58.9% 256,529 | 40.8% 177,693 |
| 1968 | 37.0% 135,222 | 48.4% 176,689 |
| 1964 | 36.0% 117,480 | 64.0% 208,941 |
| 1960 | 42.3% 134,506 | 57.7% 183,114 |
Unlike a consolidated city-county
Consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city–county is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation, and a county, which is an administrative division of a state...
, where the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and county governments merge into a single entity, these two entities remain separate. Instead there are two "tiers", or levels, of government: city and county. There are 35 municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the county, the City of Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
being the largest.
| District | Commissioner |
|---|---|
| 1st | Barbara J. Jordan |
| 2nd | Jean Monestime |
| 3rd | Audrey Edmonson |
| 4th | Sally A. Heyman Sally A. Heyman Sally A. Heyman is an American politician who resides in Miami, Florida. She is currently a commissioner of Miami-Dade County, Florida's Board of County Commissioners, representing District 4. Commissioner Sally A... |
| 5th | Bruno A. Barreiro |
| 6th | Rebeca Sosa |
| 7th | Carlos A. Gimenez Carlos A. Gimenez Carlos A. Giménez is a Cuban American retired firefighter and Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, elected to office June 28, 2011 in a special election... |
| 8th | Lynda Bell |
| 9th | Dennis C. Moss, Chairman |
| 10th | Javier D. Souto |
| 11th | Joe A. Martinez |
| 12th | José Pepe Diaz |
| 13th | Natacha Seijas |
Cities are the "lower tier" of local government, providing police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and fire protection, zoning and code enforcement, and other typical city services within their jurisdiction. These services are paid for by city taxes. The County is the "upper tier", and it provides services of a metropolitan nature, such as emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal etc. These are funded by county taxes, which are assessed on all incorporated and unincorporated areas.
Of the county's 2.2 million total residents (as of 2000), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas, the majority of which are heavily urbanized. These residents are part of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA). For these residents, the County fills the role of both lower- and upper-tier government, the County Commission acting as their lower-tier municipal representative body. Residents within UMSA pay a UMSA tax, equivalent to a city tax, which is used to provide County residents with equivalent city services (police, fire, zoning, water and sewer, etc.). Residents of incorporated areas do not pay UMSA tax.
Structure of county government
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
, with approval and consent of the Board of County Commissioners, to oversee the operations of the County Departments. The Mayor has veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
power over the Commission. The post is filled by Carlos A. Gimenez
Carlos A. Gimenez
Carlos A. Giménez is a Cuban American retired firefighter and Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, elected to office June 28, 2011 in a special election...
.
The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body, consisting of 13 members elected from single-member districts. Members are elected to serve four-year terms, and elections of members are staggered. The Board chooses a Chairperson, who presides over the Commission, as well as appoints the members of its legislative committees. The Board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within the County. It also has the power to override the Mayor's veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
with a two-thirds vote.
The election of Commissioners from single member districts came to be in 1992 after a group led by attorney and then Dade County Commissioner Arthur E. Teele, Jr. with the support of some African American and Hispanic civic leaders, challenged the at large election system in the courts, arguing that the present system did not allow for the election of minority commissioners, despite the fact that African American Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler had been elected several times. The court, under the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Donald Graham, created the single member district election system.
Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's Constitution
State constitution (United States)
In the United States, each state has its own constitution.Usually, they are longer than the 7,500-word federal Constitution and are more detailed regarding the day-to-day relationships between government and the people. The shortest is the Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1793 and currently...
provides for four elected officials to oversee executive and administrative functions for each county (called "Constitutional Officers"): Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector. However, the current Constitution allows voters in home-rule counties (including Miami-Dade) to abolish the offices and reorganize them as subordinate County departments; Miami-Dade voters chose this option.
The most visible distinction between Miami-Dade and other Florida counties is the title of its law enforcement agency. It is the only county in Florida that does not have an elected sheriff, or an agency titled "Sheriff's Office." Instead the equivalent agency is known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader is known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department. The judicial offices of Clerk of the Circuit Court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
, State Attorney, and Public Defender
Public defender
The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...
are still branches of State government and are therefore independently elected and not part of County government.
Fire Rescue
The Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department is the agency that provides fire protectionFire protection
Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of...
and emergency medical services
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
for Miami-Dade County, Florida. The department serves 28 municipalities and all unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County from 60 fire stations. The Department also provides fire protection services for Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport is a public airport located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, 13 miles southwest of Downtown Miami....
and Opa-Locka Airport
Opa-locka Airport
Opa-locka Airport , also known as Opa-locka Executive Airport, is a general aviation airport and joint civil-military airfield 10 miles north of Downtown Miami, primarily in metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States, with a portion within the city proper of Opa-locka.The airport's control tower...
.
The communities served are Aventura
Aventura, Florida
Aventura is a planned, suburban city located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name is from the Spanish word for "adventure", and was named "Aventura" after one of the developers of the original group of condominiums in the area remarked to the others, "What an adventure this is...
, Bal Harbour
Bal Harbour, Florida
Bal Harbour is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,305 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bal Harbour is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of...
, Bay Harbor Islands
Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
Bay Harbor Islands is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,146 at the 2000 census. It is separated from the mainland by Biscayne Bay, with which it is connected via the Broad Causeway. On the mainland side, BHI is bordered by the city of North Miami, while to...
, Biscayne Park
Biscayne Park, Florida
Biscayne Park is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,269 at the 2000 census. Biscayne Park was developed in the 1920's by Arthur Griffing. The area was annexed by the city of Miami in 1925 but with the arrival of the Great Depression Miami gave up...
, Doral
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Miami, it lies north-west of Miami International Airport. It takes its name from the famous golf and spa resort located within its municipal boundaries. The Doral Golf Resort & Spa was originally built...
, El Portal
El Portal, Florida
El Portal is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The village name is derived from the Spanish phrase for "the gate," after two wooden gates that once stood as a gateway to the village. The population was 2,505 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
, Florida City
Florida City, Florida
Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 5,413,212 in 2007. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S....
, Golden Beach
Golden Beach, Florida
Golden Beach is a town located in the northeast corner of Miami-Dade County, Florida, between the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 919. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 921.-Geography:Golden Beach is...
, Hialeah Gardens
Hialeah Gardens, Florida
Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,297 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S...
, Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
, Indian Creek
Indian Creek, Florida
Indian Creek is a wealthy village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 33 at the 2000 census and was the 8th highest-income place in the United States.* As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
, Islandia
Islandia, Florida
Islandia is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, located on Totten Key south of Elliott Key. The population was 18 at the 2010 Census...
, Medley
Medley, Florida
Medley is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The community was named after its founder, Sylvester Medley. The population was 1,098 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,059...
, Miami Lakes
Miami Lakes, Florida
Miami Lakes is a Miami suburban incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,676 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
, Miami Shores
Miami Shores, Florida
Miami Shores is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,380 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,040....
, Miami Springs
Miami Springs, Florida
Miami Springs is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estates...
, North Bay Village
North Bay Village, Florida
North Bay Village is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 6,733. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 7,137.North Bay Village is located at ....
, North Miami
North Miami, Florida
North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, and the North Miami campus of Johnson & Wales University...
, North Miami Beach
North Miami Beach, Florida
North Miami Beach is a Miami suburban city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Originally named Fulford in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the United States Coast Guard, the city was incorporated in 1927 as Fulford, but was renamed North Miami Beach in 1931. The population was...
, Opa-locka
Opa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
, Palmetto Bay
Palmetto Bay, Florida
Palmetto Bay is a Miami suburban incorporated village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,469 at the 2000 census.Palmetto Bay includes two census-designated places defined in the 2000 census, Cutler and East Perrine.-History:...
, Pinecrest
Pinecrest, Florida
Pinecrest is a suburban village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States of America. The population was 19,055 as of the census of 2000. Pinecrest is governed by a five-member Village Council and operates under the Council-Manager form of government....
, South Miami
South Miami, Florida
South Miami is a Miami suburban city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,741 at the 2000 census and as of 2007, according to the U.S...
, Surfside
Surfside, Florida
Surfside is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,909 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,710.-Geography:...
, Sweetwater, Sunny Isles Beach
Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
Sunny Isles Beach is a city located on a barrier island in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Intracoastal Waterway on the west...
, Virginia Gardens
Virginia Gardens, Florida
Virginia Gardens is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,348 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the village had a population of 2,294.- History :...
, and West Miami
West Miami, Florida
West Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,863 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Miami is located at ....
.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is also the home to Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1
Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1
Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1 or FL-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Miami-Dade County, Florida. FL-TF1 is sponsored by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department....
as well as EMS operations consisting of 57 Advanced Life Support units staffed by 760 state-certified paramedics and 640 state-certified emergency medical technicians.
Police Department
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
serving Miami-Dade County's unincorporated areas, although they have lenient mutual aid agreements with other municipalities, most often the City of Miami Police Department
Miami Police Department
The Miami Police Department or MPD, often referred to as the City of Miami Police, is the chief police department of the U.S. city of Miami, Florida. Their jurisdiction lies within the actual city limits of Miami, but have mutual aid agreements with neighboring police departments. The current...
. The Miami-Dade Police Department is the largest police department in the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with over 4,700 employees. The Department is still often referred by its former name, the Metro-Dade Police or simply Metro.
The Miami-Dade Police Department operate out of nine districts throughout Miami-Dade County and have two special bureaus. The current director of the department is James Loftus, who succeeded Robert Parker. The Department's headquarters are located in Doral, Florida
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Miami, it lies north-west of Miami International Airport. It takes its name from the famous golf and spa resort located within its municipal boundaries. The Doral Golf Resort & Spa was originally built...
.
Water and Sewer Department
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. It provides service to over 2.4 million customers, operating with an annual budget of almost $400 million. Approximately 330 million gallons of water are drawn everyday from the Biscayne Aquifer for consumer use. MDWASD has over 7100 miles (11,426.3 km) of water lines, a service area of 396 square miles (1,026 km²) and 14 pump stations. MDWASD has over 3600 miles (5,793.6 km) of sewage pipes, a service area of 341 square miles (883 km²) and 954 pump stationsCounty representation
The Florida Department of Juvenile JusticeFlorida Department of Juvenile Justice
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is a state agency of Florida that operates juvenile detention centers. Its headquarters are in the Knight Building in Tallahassee.-Residential facilities:...
operates the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in the county.
Education
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
. Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 380,006 as of July 5, 2010...
, is operated by an independently-elected School Board
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
. A professional Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
manages the day-to-day operations of the district, who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the School Board. The Miami-Dade County Public School District
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 380,006 as of July 5, 2010...
is currently the fourth-largest public school district in the nation with almost 400,000 students in 2007/2008.
The Miami-Dade Public Library
Miami-Dade Public Library
The Miami-Dade Public Library System is a system of libraries in Miami, Florida and Miami-Dade County in the United States.-Early years:...
is one of the largest public library systems in the country, comprising 42 branch locations, and 8 branch locations currently being built/not officially opened.
Colleges and universities
Miami-Dade County is home to many private and public universities and colleges. Total approximate college/university student enrollment in the county in 2006 was about 245,000, one of the largest number for university students in the USA.- University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
(private) - Florida International UniversityFlorida International UniversityFlorida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
(public, largest enrollment in South Florida) - Miami Dade CollegeMiami Dade CollegeMiami Dade College, or simply Miami Dade or MDC, is a state college with eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers located throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Florida College System. Miami Dade College is the largest school in the Florida College...
(public) - Barry UniversityBarry UniversityBarry University is a private, Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, a suburb north of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami....
(private/Catholic) - Nova Southeastern UniversityNova Southeastern UniversityNova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie...
(private) - Florida Memorial UniversityFlorida Memorial UniversityFlorida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...
(private/historically black) - St. Thomas UniversitySt. Thomas University (Florida)St. Thomas University is a private Roman Catholic university in the Miami, Florida, United States suburb of Miami Gardens.-History:The University traces its roots to the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, founded in 1946 in Havana, Cuba, named after Saint Thomas of Villanova, by...
(private/Catholic) - Johnson and Wales University (private)
- Carlos Albizu UniversityCarlos Albizu UniversityCarlos Albizu University is a private non-profit university offering undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology, business, and education. It has two campuses: one in San Juan, Puerto Rico , and the other in Doral, Florida, near Miami...
(private) - Miami International University of Art & DesignMiami International University of Art & DesignMiami International University of Art & Design – is a for-profit institution and one of The Art Institutes, a corporate system of more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media and visual arts, fashion, and culinary arts...
(private) - Talmudic University (private/Jewish)
Airports
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, located in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in the county, serves as the primary international airport of the Miami Area. One of the busiest international airports in the world, Miami International Airport caters to over 35 million passengers a year. Identifiable locally, as well as several worldwide authorities, as MIA or KMIA, the airport is a major hub and the single largest international gateway for American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, the world’s largest passenger air carrier. Miami International is the United States’ third largest international port of entry for foreign air passengers (behind New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
and Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
), and is the seventh largest such gateway in the world. The airport’s extensive international route network includes non-stop flights to over seventy international cities in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
General aviation airports in the county include Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport is a public airport located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, 13 miles southwest of Downtown Miami....
in an unincorporated area, Opa-Locka Airport
Opa-locka Airport
Opa-locka Airport , also known as Opa-locka Executive Airport, is a general aviation airport and joint civil-military airfield 10 miles north of Downtown Miami, primarily in metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States, with a portion within the city proper of Opa-locka.The airport's control tower...
in Opa-Locka
Opa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
, and Homestead General Aviation Airport
Homestead General Aviation Airport
Homestead General Aviation Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, located four nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Homestead.- Facilities and aircraft :...
in an unincorporated area west of Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
. Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base, east of Homestead in an unincorporated area, serves military traffic.
Public transit
Public transit in Miami-Dade County is served by Miami-Dade TransitMiami-Dade Transit
Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th-largest transit system in the United States....
, and is the largest public transit in Florida. Miami-Dade Transit operates a heavy rail metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system Metrorail
Metrorail (Miami)
The Miami Metrorail, officially Metrorail and commonly called the Metro, is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami, Florida, United States, serving the Miami metropolitan area. The Metro is operated by Miami-Dade Transit, a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County...
, an elevated people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
in Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
, Metromover
Metromover
The Miami Metromover, officially Metromover, is a free rapid transit automated people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Omni neighborhoods. Metromover connects directly with Metrorail at...
and the bus system, Metrobus. Currently, expansion of Metrorail is underway with the construction of the AirportLink to Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
.
Major expressways
When a driver passes through a toll plaza without paying the proper toll a digital image of the cars license tag is recorded. Under Florida Law, this image can be used by the Authority to issue a toll violation.
Miami-Dade County has 10 major expressways and 1 minor expressway in Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
.
-
Interstate 95 -
Interstate 75 -
Florida's TurnpikeFlorida's TurnpikeFlorida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway is a north–south toll road that runs through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S... - Homestead Extension of Florida's TurnpikeHomestead Extension of Florida's TurnpikeHomestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the West Dade Expressway is a north–south free-flow toll road southern extension of the tolled Florida's Turnpike...
-
Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836) / 
Interstate 395 -
Gratigny Parkway (State Road 924) -
Airport Expressway (State Road 112) / 
Interstate 195 -
Don Shula Expressway (State Road 874) -
Snapper Creek Expressway (State Road 878) -
Palmetto Expressway (State Road 826)State Road 826 (Florida)State Road 826, also known as the Palmetto Expressway, is a bypass route around the greater Miami area, extending from U.S. Route 1 in Pinecrest, going through the inner Miami suburbs in a north-east semicircle to the Golden Glades Interchange, reverting to a surface street to its terminus at... -
Hialeah Expressway (State Road 934) -
Downtown Distributor (State Road 970)
County roads
This is a list of Miami-Dade county roads. Miami-Dade County has fewer county roads than any other county in Florida, despite its large population.| # | Road Name(s) | Direction and Termini | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loop Road | E/W | US 41 | Fortymile Bend Fortymile Bend, Florida Fortymile Bend is an unincorporated community in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is located about west of Miami on U.S. Route 41 .... |
Monroe-Miami-Dade County line | west of Fortymile Bend Fortymile Bend, Florida Fortymile Bend is an unincorporated community in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is located about west of Miami on U.S. Route 41 .... |
CR 94 is a multi-county county road. | |
| Card Sound Road | N/S | US 1 | near Homestead | Monroe-Miami-Dade County Line. | near Card Sound Bridge | CR 905A is a multi-county road. |
Street grid
A street gridGrid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
stretches from downtown Miami throughout the county. This grid was adopted by the City of Miami following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
after the United States Post Office threatened to cease mail deliveries in the city because the original system of named streets, with names often changing every few blocks and multiple streets in the city sharing the same name, was too confusing for the mail carriers. The new grid was later extended throughout the county as the population grew west, south, and north of city limits. The grid is laid out with Miami Avenue as the meridian going North-South and Flagler Street the baseline
Baseline (surveying)
In the United States Public Land Survey System, a baseline is the principal east-west line that divides survey townships between north and south. The baseline meets its corresponding meridian at the point of origin, or initial point, for the land survey...
going east-west. The grid is primarily numerical so that, for example, all street addresses north of Flagler and west of Miami Avenue have NW in their address (e.g. NW 27th Avenue). Because its point of origin is in downtown Miami which is close to the coast, the NW and SW quadrants are much larger than the SE and NE quadrants. Many roads, especially major ones, are also named, although, with a few notable exceptions, the number is in more common usage among locals. Although this grid is easy to understand once one is oriented to it, it is not universal in the entire county. Hialeah uses its own grid system which is entirely different in its orientation. Coral Gables and Miami Lakes use named streets almost exclusively, and various smaller municipalities such as Florida City and Homestead use their own grid system along with the Miami-Dade grid system adding to the confusion. Miami Beach has its own system of numbered streets without compass directions.
Museums
- American Police Hall of Fame, Miami
- Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach
- Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Coral Gables
- Fairchild Tropical Botanic GardenFairchild Tropical Botanic GardenFairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines. It is located in metropolitan Miami, just south of Coral Gables, Florida, United States, surrounded at the south and west by Matheson...
, Coral Gables - Frost Art MuseumFrost Art MuseumThe Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....
, (Florida International UniversityFlorida International UniversityFlorida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
, Miami) - Haitian Heritage Museum, Miami
- HistoryMiami, Downtown MiamiDowntown MiamiDowntown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
- Holocaust Memorial, Miami Beach
- Jewish Museum of FloridaJewish Museum of FloridaThe Jewish Museum of Florida is located in two restored historic buildings that were formerly synagogues, at 301 & 311 Washington Ave., in Miami Beach, Florida. The main Museum building, at 301 Washington Ave., was built in 1936, is on the National Register of Historic Places, has Art Deco...
, Miami Beach - Lowe Art MuseumLowe Art MuseumThe Lowe Art Museum is an art museum located in Coral Gables, Florida, a Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County. The museum is run and operated by the University of Miami and opened in 1950. The museum has an extensive collection of art with permanent collections in Greco-Roman antiquities, Renaissance,...
, (University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, Coral Gables) - Miami Art MuseumMiami Art MuseumThe Miami Art Museum is an art museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, in the United States. It was founded in 1984 as the Center for the Fine Arts, and in 1996 became the Miami Art Museum...
, Downtown Miami - Miami Children's MuseumMiami Children's MuseumThe Miami Children’s Museum is a non-profit educational institution located on Watson Island, in the city of Miami, Florida.-About the museum:Founded in 1983, the museum opened its current building on Watson Island to the public on September 7, 2003...
, Miami - Miami Cultural Center, Downtown Miami
- Miami Science MuseumMiami Science MuseumThe Miami Science Museum is an attraction located in the city of Miami, Florida USA. The museum itself also contains the Space-Transit Planetarium, Weintraub Observatory and a wildlife center. The museum is currently working to transplant the museum from its current location to Park West at...
, Miami - Museum of Contemporary ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art, North MiamiThe Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum located in the heart of downtown North Miami, Florida. The structure was designed by the internationally acclaimed architecture firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, New York, which worked in conjunction with the Miami firm of Gelabert-Navia to...
, North Miami - Rubell Family Collection, Miami
- The Gold Coast Railroad MuseumGold Coast Railroad Museum- Description :It was founded in 1956. The museum was built on the former Naval Air Station Richmond . With over three miles of tracks, the old base was an ideal place to build a railroad museum....
, Miami - Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami
- Weeks Air Museum, Miami
- Wings Over Miami Museum, Miami
- WolfsonianWolfsonian-FIUThe Wolfsonian–Florida International University or The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in the heart of the Art Deco District, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For over one decade, The Wolfsonian has been a division...
, (Florida International UniversityFlorida International UniversityFlorida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
, Miami Beach) - World Erotic Art Museum, Miami Beach
- The World Famous Mondesi Carranza Museum, Miami Beach
Culture and wildlife
- Zoo Miami, Miami
- Jungle IslandJungle IslandJungle Island is an interactive zoological park in Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States. It was originally Parrot Jungle and moved from its original suburban Pinecrest to its present location just east of Downtown Miami renamed as Parrot Jungle Island...
, Miami - Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami
- Bayside MarketplaceBayside MarketplaceBayside Marketplace is a festival marketplace in Downtown Miami, Florida. It's in between Bayfront Park to the south end, and the American Airlines Arena to the north. As Bayside's name suggests, it wraps along the banks of the Biscayne Bay....
, Downtown Miami - Miami SeaquariumMiami SeaquariumThe Miami Seaquarium is a oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is located near downtown Miami. It is the longest operating oceanarium in the United States. In addition to the marine mammals, the Miami Seaquarium also...
, Miami - Monkey JungleMonkey JungleMonkey Jungle is a renowned wildlife park established in 1933 for the exhibition and study of endangered monkeys in semi-natural habitats. Many novel and innovative projects have been conducted at the park, which is also a popular tourist attraction in the Miami, Florida area...
, Miami - Ancient Spanish MonasterySt. Bernard de Clairvaux ChurchSt. Bernard de Clairvaux Church is a medieval Spanish monastery cloister which was built in the town of Sacramenia in Segovia, Spain, in the 12th century but dismantled in the 20th century and shipped to New York in the United States. It was eventually reassembled in North Miami Beach, Florida,...
, North Miami - Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing ArtsAdrienne Arsht Center for the Performing ArtsAdrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called The Arsht Center, is Florida's largest performing arts center and is located on Biscayne Boulevard in the Omni neighborhood of Downtown, Miami, Florida, United States...
, Downtown Miami - Wertheim Performing Arts Center, (Florida International University, Miami)
- Florida Grand OperaFlorida Grand OperaFlorida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...
, Miami - Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, Downtown Miami
- Bayfront Park AmphitheatreBayfront ParkBayfront Park is a public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay.-History:The park began construction in 1924 under the design plans of Warren Henry Manning and officially opened in March 1925. Beginning in 1980, it underwent a major redesign by Japanese-American modernist artist...
, Downtown Miami
Other areas and attractions
|
Bal Harbour Shops Bal Harbour Shops is an upscale open-air shopping mall in Bal Harbour, a wealthy suburb of Miami, Florida, known internationally for its collection of luxury retail. Bal Harbour Shops is one of the few remaining family-owned malls in the nation... Dolphin Mall Dolphin Mall is a popular shopping mall just west of Doral proper in metropolitan Miami, Florida. There are over 240 retail outlets and name brand discounters as anchors.The Mall opened on March 1, 2001, the first of four Taubman Malls to open that year... Aventura Mall The Aventura Mall is an upscale super-regional shopping mall in Aventura, Florida, a northern suburb of Miami. It is the largest conventional shopping mall in Florida, having a gross leasable area of , and is the fifth largest shopping center in the United States. The mall has three floors of... Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel The Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. It was designed by Schultze and Weaver and was built in 1926 by John McEntee Bowman and George Merrick as part of the Biltmore hotel chain.... Freedom Tower (Miami) The Freedom Tower is a building in Miami, Florida, designed by Schultze and Weaver. It is used currently as a memorial to Cuban immigration to the United States. It is located at 600 Biscayne Boulevard on the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College. On September 10, 1979, it was added to the U.S.... |
Miami Beach Architectural District The Miami Beach Architectural District is a U.S. historic district located in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida... Miami Design District The Design District, historically a part of the Buena Vista, is a neighborhood of greater Midtown, Miami, Florida, United States, south of Little Haiti... Bayside Marketplace Bayside Marketplace is a festival marketplace in Downtown Miami, Florida. It's in between Bayfront Park to the south end, and the American Airlines Arena to the north. As Bayside's name suggests, it wraps along the banks of the Biscayne Bay.... Little Havana Little Havana is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The approximate boundaries are the Miami River , SW 16th Street , SR 9/West 27th Avenue and I-95... Star Island (Florida) Star Island is an island neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. In Biscayne Bay, the island is south of the Venetian Islands and just east of Palm and Hibiscus islands.-Background:... |
Brickell Brickell is an urban neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. A neighborhood of greater Downtown Miami, Brickell is Miami and South Florida's major financial district.-Background:... City of Miami Cemetery The City of Miami Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located at 1800 Northeast 2nd Avenue. On January 4, 1989, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-History:... Mary Brickell Village The Shops at Mary Brickell Village is a lifestyle center located in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It has become a very popular downtown destination, bringing new stores and eateries to the area... Wynwood Art District The Wynwood Art District is a district of the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is home to over 70 galleries, museums and collections... |
Parks
|
Oleta River State Park The Oleta River State Park is a Florida State Park system on Biscayne Bay in the municipal suburb of North Miami in metropolitan Miami, Florida... Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest... Biscayne National Park Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive... |
Sports venues
- Sun Life Stadium- Miami DolphinsMiami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(football), Miami HurricanesMiami HurricanesThe Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
(football), and Florida MarlinsFlorida MarlinsThe Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
(baseball) - Florida Marlins' new ballpark - Miami MarlinsFlorida MarlinsThe Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
(baseball) - in construction - American Airlines Arena- Miami HeatMiami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
(basketball) - Tennis Center at Crandon ParkTennis Center at Crandon ParkThe 13,300-seat Stadium Court is the centerpiece of the Tennis Center at Crandon Park facility, home of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida since 1987. The Sony Ericsson Open uses 12 courts in competition courts, plus six practice courts...
- Sony Ericcson Open - FIU StadiumFIU StadiumFIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...
- FIU Golden PanthersFIU Golden PanthersThe FIU Panthers are the athletic teams of Florida International University , a public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers compete in NCAA Division I athletics, and are currently members of the Sun Belt Conference...
(football) - Pharmed ArenaPharmed ArenaU.S. Century Bank Arena is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. It was opened on February 1, 1986 and is home to the FIU Golden Panthers basketball and volleyball teams...
- FIU Golden Panthers (basketball) - University Park StadiumUniversity Park StadiumUniversity Park Stadium is a baseball stadium located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, USA. It is the home venue of the FIU Panthers college baseball team of the List of NCAA Division I Baseball programs Sun Belt Conference. The facility opened on January 26,...
- FIU Golden Panthers (baseball) - BankUnited CenterBankUnited CenterThe BankUnited Center is a 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The venue hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, university events and sporting events, including all University of Miami men's and women's basketball...
- Miami Hurricanes (basketball) - Tropical Park StadiumTropical Park StadiumTropical Park Stadium is a 10,000-seat stadium located in Olympia Heights, Florida, a CDP near Miami, Florida. The stadium is located in Tropical Park and was the home field of Miami FC of the United Soccer Leagues...
- Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...
- Calder Race CourseCalder Race CourseCalder Casino & Race Course is a casino and horse racetrack in Miami Gardens, Florida in the United States.-History:In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime racing in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the Florida Legislature approved a bill...
- Hialeah Park Race TrackHialeah Park Race TrackThe Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic site in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S...
- Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field- Miami Hurricanes (baseball)
Former venues include:
- Miami ArenaMiami ArenaThe Miami Arena was an indoor arena in Miami, Florida.-History:Completed in 1988, at a cost of $52.5 million, its opening took business away from the Hollywood Sportatorium and eventually led to its demise...
- Miami Orange BowlMiami Orange BowlThe Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...
- Miami Marine StadiumMiami Marine StadiumThe Miami Marine Stadium is a marine stadium on Virginia Key, Miami, Florida, United States. The facility, built and completed in 1963 on land donated to the City of Miami from the Matheson family, is the first stadium purpose-built for powerboat racing in the United States.-History:The 6,566 seat...
Sister cities
Miami-Dade County has 23 sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
:
| Veracruz Veracruz, Veracruz Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most... , Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... Iquique Iquique Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census... , Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... Kingston Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island... , Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... Petit Goâve Petit Goâve Petit-Goâve is a coastal town in Ouest Department, Haïti. It is located southwest of Port-au-Prince. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants.-History:... , Haiti Haiti Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island... The Bahamas The Bahamas The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States... Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River... , Dominican Republic Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries... Lamentin Lamentin See Le Lamentin for the commune of MartiniqueLamentin is a French commune in the overseas department of Guadeloupe. It is part of the agglomeration of Pointe-à-Pitre, in the north part of Basse-Terre... , Guadeloupe Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe... Tenerife Tenerife Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... Stockholm County Stockholm County Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... New Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor... Pereira, Colombia Pereira, Colombia Pereira is the capital city of the Colombian department of Risaralda. It stands in the center of the western region of the country, located in a small valley that descends from a part of the western Andes mountain chain. Its strategic location in the coffee producing area makes the city an urban... Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and... |
San José, Costa Rica San José, Costa Rica San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San... Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population.... Province of Asti Province of Asti The Province of Asti is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Asti. To the north west it borders on the province of Turin; to the south west it borders on the province of Cuneo. To the east it borders on the province of Alessandria, while in the south it... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... Mendoza Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993... , Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... State of Monagas Monagas Monagas State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela.Monagas State covers a total surface area of 28,900 km² and, in June 30, 2010, had an estimated population of 908,626.... , Venezuela Venezuela Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south... São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among... , Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... Prefeitura.Sp - Descentralized Cooperation Pucallpa Pucallpa Pucallpa is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District.... , Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... Santa Cruz Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country... , Bolivia Bolivia Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... Asunción Asunción Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San... , Paraguay Paraguay Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the... Maldonado Maldonado, Uruguay Maldonado is the capital of Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is located on Route 39 and shares borders with Punta del Este to the south, Pinares - Las Delicias to the south and to the east and suburb La Sonrisa to the north. Together they all for a unified metropolitan area. East of the city... , Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area... Cayman Islands Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica... |
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Miami
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Miami-Dade County, Florida
County departments and agencies
- Miami-Dade Public Library System
- Miami-Dade Police Department
- Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County Jackson Memorial Hospital
- Miami-Dade Aviation Department Miami International Airport
- Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
- Miami-Dade Department of Solid Waste Management
Special districts
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) is the 4th largest school districtSchool districtSchool districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Miami-Dade School Board is a nine-member publicly elected body responsible for overseeing the administration of the (MDCPS). - South Florida Water Management District
Judicial branch
- Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts
- Miami-Dade Public Defender, 11th Judicial Circuit
- Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, 11th Judicial Circuit
- Circuit and County Court, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida