South Florida

South Florida, sometimes called SoFlo, is the southernmost part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three main areas, along with Central Florida and North Florida.

South Florida is special because it is the southernmost part of the continental United States and the only part that has a tropical climate.

The area is mostly made up of the big Miami metropolitan area and the huge wild space called the Everglades. South Florida also includes the beautiful Florida Keys.

There are three U.S. national parks here: Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, and Everglades. Many cities and towns are also found in this interesting part of the country.

Composition

South Florida is the southern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It has no official boundaries, so people might think of it differently. Some say it starts from Jupiter and goes south. This area includes the busy Miami metropolitan area, with Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County. It also has the Florida Keys and the Glades.

Sometimes, people add areas like Southwest Florida and the Treasure Coast to South Florida. But places like the Tampa Bay area are usually part of Central Florida, even though it has a university called the University of South Florida. Different groups might talk about South Florida in different ways.

Demographics

People in South Florida come from many places. Many who move there are from Latin America.

South Florida has people who support different political groups. Some areas vote for the Democratic party, while others vote for the Republican party. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Democratic voters lived mainly in cities and some rural spots like around Immokalee and Belle Glade. Republican voters were more common along the coast north of Pompano Beach, in parts of the Everglades, and in many inland areas.

Population %	Place of birth
32.2%	State of Florida
33.0%	Elsewhere in the U.S.
34.8%	Outside of the U.S.

Cities

A U.S. Geological Survey satellite image of the Miami metropolitan area in April 2007

Largest cities in South Florida by population:

City	2020 population	2010 population	2000 population	County
Miami	442,241	399,457	362,470	Miami-Dade
Hialeah	223,109	224,669	226,419	Miami-Dade
Port St. Lucie	204,851	164,603	88,769	St. Lucie
Cape Coral	194,016	154,309	102,286	Lee
Fort Lauderdale	182,760	165,521	152,397	Broward
Pembroke Pines	171,178	154,750	137,427	Broward
Hollywood	153,067	140,768	139,368	Broward
Miramar	134,721	122,041	72,739	Broward
Coral Springs	134,394	121,096	117,549	Broward
Miami Gardens	111,640	107,167	124,656	Miami-Dade
West Palm Beach	117,415	99,919	82,103	Palm Beach
Pompano Beach	112,046	99,845	78,191	Broward
Davie	105,691	91,992	75,720	Broward
Miami Beach	82,890	87,779	87,933	Miami-Dade
Plantation	91,750	84,955	82,934	Broward
Sunrise	97,335	84,439	85,787	Broward
Boca Raton	97,422	84,392	74,764	Palm Beach
Deerfield Beach	86,859	75,018	64,585	Broward
Fort Myers	86,395	62,298	48,208	Lee
Boynton Beach	80,380	68,217	60,389	Palm Beach
Lauderhill	74,482	66,887	57,585	Broward
Weston	68,107	65,333	49,286	Broward
Delray Beach	66,846	60,522	60,020	Palm Beach
Homestead	80,737	60,512	31,909	Miami-Dade
Tamarac	71,897	60,427	55,588	Broward
North Miami	60,191	58,786	59,880	Miami-Dade
Wellington	61,637	56,508	38,216	Palm Beach
Jupiter	61,047	55,156	39,328	Palm Beach
Margate	58,712	53,284	53,909	Broward
Coconut Creek	57,833	52,909	43,566	Broward

Culture

Miami accent

The Miami accent is a special way of speaking American English that you can hear in South Florida, especially in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties. This accent began in Miami and has spread across South Florida since the 1960s. It is most common among young people born in America who live in South Florida.

The Miami accent is like regular American English but has some differences, similar to how people speak in the Mid-Atlantic, especially around New York. It includes a rhythm and pronunciation influenced by Spanish.

Politics

South Florida has some unique features that make it different from other parts of Florida. Many of these differences come from people moving there from the northern U.S., the Caribbean, and Latin America, especially in busy areas like Miami.

Cuisine

South Florida stands out in its food culture. It is the only part of Florida where foods from different cultures are just as popular as typical American cuisine. Floribbean cuisine is a mix of flavors from Florida, the Caribbean, Asia, and Latin America that developed in this region. Latin music is more popular here than in other parts of Florida.

Urban planning

South Florida has a unique way of growing. Unlike many places with a big city in the middle surrounded by development, most of South Florida is kept as natural space or for farming. Building is only allowed along a narrow, busy coastal strip. This area is very built-up and stretches out without one main city standing out. Experts think this pattern will continue in the future.

Partition proposals

The partition of Florida as proposed by the South Miami's mayor and its city commission in 2014

Some people have talked about making South Florida its own state. These ideas are more about sharing opinions than serious plans to change the state. People feel this way because of differences in culture, money, and how things are run compared to the government in Tallahassee, which is in North Florida.

In 2008, leaders in North Lauderdale said they wanted South Florida to be a new state from Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties.

In 2014, leaders in South Miami also supported splitting Florida. They wanted to include Brevard, Orange, Polk, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties, which covers parts of the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas. This would mean 24 counties would be in the new state of South Florida.