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 ...

is a state located in the

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. There are 267 cities, 123 towns, and 21 villages in the U.S. state of

, a total of 411

incorporated municipalities A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally own ...

. They are distributed across 67 counties, 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. 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 ...

s are incorporated municipalities (the exceptions are Crawfordville, county seat of rural Wakulla County; 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 ...

, 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 ...

).''
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 hav ...

s. However, 94% of the population lives in

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

s. 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 Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

and Pensacola became the first municipalities to incorporate. The most recent incorporation was Westlake in 2016. The largest municipality by population and land area is Jacksonville with 949,611 residents and . The smallest by population is Marineland with 15 people, while the smallest by land area is Lazy Lake at . The formation and dissolution of municipalities is governed by Chapter 165 of the Florida Statutes. 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 charte ...

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 A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

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.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Florida League of Cities

US Geological Survey: Geographic names in Florida
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Municipalities in Florida, List of Florida geography-related lists

Incorporated cities, towns, and villages

See also

References

Bibliography

External links