Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
is a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
located in the
Southern United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. There are 267
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, 123 towns, and 21 villages in the U.S. state of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, a total of 411
incorporated municipalities. They are distributed across 67
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, in addition to 66 county governments. Jacksonville has the only
consolidated city–county government in the state, so there is no
Duval County government. However, smaller municipal governments exist within the consolidated municipality, e.g.,
Baldwin and the
Jacksonville Beaches
The Jacksonville Beaches, or Jax Beaches known locally as "The Beaches", are a group of towns and communities on the northern half of an unnamed barrier island on the US state of Florida's First Coast, all of which are excluded cities or parts of ...
. All but two of Florida's
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
s are incorporated municipalities (the exceptions are
Crawfordville, county seat of rural
Wakulla County
Wakulla County is a County (United States), county located in the Big Bend (Florida), Big Bend region in the North Florida, northern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33, ...
; and
East Naples
East Naples is an unincorporated community in Collier County, Florida, United States. East Naples has been the county seat since 1962, when the Collier County Courthouse was moved from Everglades (see Old Collier County Courthouse).
East Naples is ...
, county seat of
Collier County
Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...
).''
Incorporated municipalities in Florida may be called cities, towns, or villages, but there is no legal distinction between the different terms. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 10 million Floridians, 55% of the state's total population of 18,801,310, lived in incorporated municipalities. The remainder lived in
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
s. However, 94% of the population lives in
metropolitan areas. Of the remaining 6%, many live in smaller cities and towns, thus the actual number of residents living in truly
rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...
s is small.
There are ten counties in the state with just one incorporated municipality and ten counties with only two.
In 1822,
St. Augustine and
Pensacola
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
became the first municipalities to incorporate. The most recent incorporation was
Westlake in 2016. The largest municipality by population and land area is
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
with 949,611 residents and . The smallest by population is
Marineland with 15 people, while the smallest by land area is
Lazy Lake
Lazy Lake is a village in Broward County, Florida, United States. The population was 33 at the 2020 census. Lazy Lake has no police department or fire department.
History
In 1946, real estate developer and contractor Hal Ratliff began the proce ...
at .
The formation and dissolution of municipalities is governed by Chapter 165 of the
Florida Statutes
The ''Florida Statutes'' are the codified, statutory laws of Florida; it currently has 48 titles. A chapter in the Florida Statutes represents all of the relevant statutory law on a particular subject. The statutes are the selected reproduction of ...
. All Florida municipalities must be operated under a
municipal charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
approved by a majority of the registered voters in the geographic area of the municipality, which must be confirmed by the state legislature through
special legislation.
The largest cities in Florida (population over 200,000) utilize the
strong mayor–council form of government. The mayor typically appoints a
chief administrative officer who performs the same function as a
city manager which is utilized by 70% of Florida's municipalities, whose mayors are primarily symbolic and ceremonial.
Incorporated cities, towns, and villages
Note: The table of contents only applies when the list is sorted by place name.
*"Rank" refers to the relative position of a municipality on a list ranked from 1 to 411 by population.
*"Year" refers to the first time a place name was incorporated. If a community was incorporated as a Town, then subsequently incorporated as a City, the earliest date is provided.
*Left mouse click on the up/down arrows to sort the list by that column.
See also
*
List of counties in Florida
*
List of places in Florida
See also
* Florida
* List of municipalities in Florida
* List of counties in Florida
References
USGS Fips55 database
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Places In Florida
Lists of places in Florida
Places
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (Uni ...
*
List of former municipalities in Florida
The following incorporated municipalities formerly existed in the U.S. state of Florida, but have been incorporated.
A
*Altoona, Florida, Altoona (Lake County, FL, Lake County): disincorporated 1899
*Anthony, Florida, Anthony (Marion County, FL ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Florida League of CitiesUS Geological Survey: Geographic names in Florida*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipalities in Florida, List of
Florida geography-related lists
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...