State of Florida

Welcome to Florida. Known as the Sunshine state, Florida is the land of opportunity. Affordable housing, excellent weather, and a healthy job market are attracting Americans from all over the country to move to Florida. The state consists of 67 counties, is 500 miles long and 160 miles wide. The capital of Florida is Tallahassee, which is located in the panhandle (the northern part of the state).

State of Florida Resources

Florida Government

The Florida Government is based in Tallahassee, which is the state capital. Serving almost 21 million Floridians, the state of Florida has a large government and many of the departments are online on the states official MyFlorida website. Florida has no state income tax, which makes it attractive to many Americans looking to escape high state taxes. That and other factors are contributing to a robust increase in the Florida population.

The majority of the revenue for the state comes from sales tax related to tourism, as well as property taxes.

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Florida Executive Branch

The executive branch of Florida are the responsibility of the Governor three officers — the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer, and Commissioner of Agriculture. Those three officers are known as the cabinet.

The Governor of Florida has an extensive Staff, which he appoints. The Governors Staff includes:

  • The Appointment Office
    Assists the Governor in making appointments.
  • Cabinet Affairs
    Serves as a Liaison between the Governor and cabinet departments and agencies.
  • Citizens Service
    Ensures that all incoming correspondence for the Governor are responded to and monitors agencies under the Governor of Florida's jurisdiction. Citizens can contact the Florida Citizens Services if they need assistance getting a response from a Florida Government agency.
  • Communications Office
    Distributes information for the Governor about his programs and initiatives.
  • Executive Office
    Has many departments — an example is Legal Affairs, which tracks information such as those commissioned be a Florida Notary.
  • External Affairs
    Promotes the Governors public appearances and schedule.
  • Information Systems
    Responsible for keeping all the technology in the Governor of Florida office working.
  • Legal Affairs
    Legal council to the Governor in his official duties.
  • Legislative Affairs
    Advocate and assist in passage of the Governors legislative priorities.
  • Office of Adoption and Child Protection
    Promotes adoption in the State of Florida.
  • Office of Drug Control Policy
    Implements a plan for the state of Florida for prevention, treatment, and law enforcement related to drugs.
  • Office of Film and Entertainment
    As part of the Florida Office of Tourism, the Office of Film and and Entertainment promotes and builds the film and entertainment industry in Florida.
  • Office of Policy and Budget
    Supports the Florida Governor, State Agencies, and State Legislature in planning, policy development, and budgeting.
  • Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development
    Assists the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Florida Legislature in creating policies that provide economic opportunities for all Floridians. An example is the Scripps Florida Program created in 2003 by then Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
  • Scheduling
    Maintains the Governors schedule and accepts and processes requests for the Governor to appear at events.

Florida Counties

Florida has 67 counties in two time zones. Like many states populations are concentrated in a few larger counties including Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Lee, and Sarasota. Many services are provided at the local level through either the county government or DMV offices.

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Florida Cities

Florida has hundreds of cities and towns. Major cities include Key West, Miami, Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Panama City, and Pensacola.

Geographically Florida is a big state. The drive from Miami in the south to Pensacola in the north-west corner is 663 miles. See our Map of Florida.