Miami metropolitan area

The Miami metropolitan area, officially known as the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the third-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the largest metropolitan area in Florida. It is also known as South Florida, SoFlo, SoFla, the Gold Coast, Southeast Florida, the Tri-County Area, or Greater Miami. With a population of 6.45 million, its population exceeds 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2023. It comprises the three most populated counties in the state, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County. Miami-Dade County, with 2,701,767 people in 2020, is the seventh-most populous county in the United States. Miami is the region's financial and cultural core and most populous city. According to the Global and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) classification Miami is an "Alpha minus" city and is considered a very important world city that links the major economic region of South Florida into the world economy. The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 37) ranked Miami as the world's 26th most important finance center as of May 2025, ranking 7th in the United States only behind New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Boston. Other principal cities, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, include Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Deerfield Beach, Miami Beach, Kendall, Doral, Delray Beach, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens. The Miami metropolitan area is part of the larger South Florida region of the state, which also includes the Everglades and the Florida Keys. With 1,279.2 sq mi (3,313 km2) of urban landmass, the Miami metropolitan area also is one of the world's most populous urban agglomerations. South Florida is largely confined to a strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Everglades, and Miami's urbanized area is about 100 miles (160 km) long (north to south) and at most 20 miles (32 km) east to west; in some areas, its east to west width is only 5 miles (8 km). The Miami metropolitan statistical area is the second-longest urbanized area in the United States behind the New York metropolitan area. It was the eighth-most densely populated urbanized area in the United States as of the 2000 census. As of the 2020 census, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale urbanized area had a land area of 1,244.18 square miles (3,222.4 km2), with a population of 6,077,522, for a population density of 4,884.78 inhabitants per square mile (1,886.02/km2). The Miami metropolitan area also had one urban cluster (UC) as of the 2020 census, which is not part of the Miami urbanized area. The Belle Glade urban cluster had a population of 23,009, area of 7.21 square miles (18.7 km2) and population density of 3,191.41 inhabitants per square mile (1,232.21/km2). Miami, the largest city in the metropolitan area, had population density of over 10,000/sq mi (more than 3,800/km2) in 2000. The Miami Urbanized Area was the fourth-largest urbanized area in the United States in the 2010 census. The most notable colleges and universities in the Miami metropolitan area include Barry University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Nova Southeastern University, St. Thomas University (Florida), and the University of Miami. The region also has three community colleges, Broward College, Miami Dade College, and Palm Beach State College. Some of these institutions, such as Florida International University and Miami Dade College, make up some of the largest institutions of higher learning in the United States.