Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the

Tampa Bay area The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the Unite ...

, west of

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwa ...

, and mostly north of the Everglades and to include

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Lee, and Collier counties. For some purposes, the inland counties of DeSoto, Glades, and Hendry, and the thinly populated mainland section of Monroe County, south of Collier, are also included. The region includes four metropolitan areas: the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota MSA, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA, the Naples-Marco Island MSA, and the Punta Gorda MSA. The most populous county in the region is Lee County (760,822 population), and the region's largest city is

Cape Coral Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...

with a population of 194,016 as of 2020.

Development

With no large cities in its early history, Southwest Florida was largely ignored by commercial developers until the late 19th century. As a result, the region lacks the heavier development present in other parts of Florida. In recent years however, there has been a major real estate boom focusing on downtown

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

(high-rise residential condominiums); southern Lee County (commercial development and

high-technology High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

); eastern

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 ...

(residential development); and eastern parts of

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. Numerous efforts in recent years have been made to reduce development and preserve open space and recreational areas. Inland counties ( DeSoto, Hendry and Glades Counties) are notably rural, with the primary economic driver being

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. Important products grown in this area include

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es,

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

, sugarcane, and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

products including

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

. Agricultural harvesting in Southwest Florida employs approximately 16,000 seasonal workers, 90 percent of which are thought to be migrants.

Government

Each county in the region has its own county government. Within each county, there are also self-governing cities, towns and villages. The remaining majority of land in each county is controlled directly by the county government. It is also very common for incorporated municipalities to contract county services in order to save costs and avoid redundancy. The region is designated as one of Florida's 4 districts for the Committee of Southern Historic Preservation (C-SHP). The district has been represented by Tommy Stolly since 2013.

Regional Transportation

Highways

Southwest Florida is served by several major highways, including the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and the

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

, both of which connect the area to Tampa to the north, and Greater Miami–Ft. Lauderdale to the east. Long-term cooperative infrastructure planning is coordinated by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council
web site
, and in heavily populated Lee County, the

Metropolitan Planning Organization A metropolitan planning organization (MPO) is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authoriti ...

. Greyhound Lines serves several locations in Southwest Florida, including

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and

Airports

Southwest Florida International Airport Southwest Florida International Airport is a major county-owned airport in the South Fort Myers area of unincorporated Lee County, Florida, United States. The airport serves the Southwest Florida region, including the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, N ...

, located to the south of Fort Myers, is the area's primary airport for commercial traffic, serving 10.3 million passengers in 2021 and becoming one of the 50 busiest airports in the United States. Since 2022, the Lufthansa subsidiary

Eurowings Discover Eurowings Discover is a German airline headquartered in Frankfurt. It is owned by the Lufthansa Group and serves leisure destinations around the Mediterranean, North America and the Caribbean from its bases at Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airpor ...

operates a direct route between Fort Myers and

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...

, the sole nonstop flight to Europe in the region; the airport also facilitates travel between 28 states as well as the Canadian provinces of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport is located within three jurisdictions: Sarasota County, the city limits of Sarasota and Manatee County, in the United States' state of Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, it is ...

serves as the secondary airport for the region and the primary airport for American and Canadian travelers hoping to travel to the northern part of Southwest Florida, flying as far west as

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, as far north as

Toronto Pearson Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

and

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and as far east as

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In 2021, the airport served 3.16 million passengers, a new record for the airport. General aviation airports sprawl across the region, with the airport in Naples being the twelfth busiest in the nation for private jet traffic. The region also hosts general aviation facilities at namesake airports in various locations including

Immokalee (your home) , nickname = , settlement_type = Census-designated place , motto = , image_skyline = File:Immokalee-Zocalo Plaza 2018.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption ...

, Buckingham, LaBelle, Arcadia,

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...

, Punta Gorda, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, as well as at Fort Myers'

Page Field Page Field is a public airport three miles (4.8 km) south of Fort Myers, in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Lee County Port Authority; the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ...

, Placida's Coral Creek Airport, Everglades Airpark near Everglades City, and the

Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport is a public airport located within the Florida Everglades, 36 miles (58 km) west of the central business district of Miami, in Collier County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Miami-Dade ...

straddling the line between Southwest Florida and the Miami metropolitan area.

Seaport

SeaPort Manatee provides a full range of port services for commercial, industrial and cruise ship purposes.

Railway

Seminole Gulf Railway The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, whic ...

provides freight services throughout Southwest Florida. The Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and the Florida East Coast provide Florida with an intriguing history since most of the South's classic lines are operated here.

Tourism

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

is a major economic driver in the area. The warm winter climate draws tourists from across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Small towns as well as cultural centres, sea-captains hangouts and small industrial centres, Southwest Florida has more than 25 major tourist meccas. Southwest Florida is a region with a comfortable mixture of Florida's classic and cosmopolitan, relaxed and fast-paced. A place for everyone. Major attractions/destinations: *Beaches in the following locales: :* Bonita Beach :* Cape Romano :* Fort Myers Beach :*

Longboat Key A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

, offshore from

and

, offshore from

:* Sarasota Jungle Gardens in

:* Sanibel and Captiva Islands, offshore from

and

:* St. Armands Circle on St. Armands Key :*

*Attractions including: :*

Edison and Ford Winter Estates The Edison and Ford Winter Estates contain a historical museum and 21 acre (8.5 hectares) botanical garden on the adjacent sites of the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford beside the Caloosahatchee River in Southwestern Florida. It is ...

renowned for fishing and ecotourism. :* Naples Botanical Garden :* Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens :*

Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, located in northeast Glades County near the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee. It is one of six reservations held in trust by the federal governme ...

where the Seminole nation operates a sizable casino. :* Ringling Museum of Art in

:* St. Armand's Circle in

Education

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

(FGCU) is a public university located just south of the

in South Fort Myers in

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an e ...

. The university belongs to the 12-campus State University System of Florida. FGCU competes in the ASUN Conference in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

sports. FGCU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award

associate's An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

, 51 different types of bachelor's, 29 different

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, and 6 types of doctoral degrees.

Sports

The following table shows the professional teams and major NCAA Division 1 teams that play in Southwest Florida.

Spring training

Florida is the traditional home for Major League Baseball spring training, with teams informally organized into the "

Grapefruit League Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives establi ...

." , Southwest Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring training: *

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

in North Port *

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

in Fort Myers *

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in Sarasota * Minnesota Twins in South Fort Myers * Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton *

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

in Port Charlotte

Area codes

* Area code 239 Collier and Lee counties (Portions of Hendry, Charlotte and Monroe counties) *

Area code 941 Area code 941 is an area code in Florida. Introduced on March 3, 1996, it includes the counties of Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte, areas along the Sun Coast of southwestern Florida, USA. It is the area code for North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, ...

Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties * Area code 863 DeSoto, Hendry and Glades counties

Media

Newspapers

''The Banner''
* ''

The Bradenton Herald ''The Bradenton Herald'' is a newspaper based in Bradenton, Florida, in the United States. History On September 15, 1922, Volume 1, Number 1 was published as ''The Evening Herald''. It was a merger of two weekly papers: the ''Manatee River Jou ...

''
Breeze Newspapers

''Florida Weekly''
* ''

Naples Daily News The ''Naples Daily News'' is the main daily newspaper of Naples, Florida, and Collier County. It is owned by Gannett and has a circulation of more than 40,000. It was previously owned by Milwaukee-based Journal Media Group, which was formed by a ...

'' * ''

The News-Press ''The News-Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper located in Fort Myers, Florida, serving primarily Lee County, as well as parts of Hendry, Collier, and Charlotte Counties. The paper publishes several editions of its "Local & State" (metro) s ...

'' * '' Sarasota Herald-Tribune''
''Southwest Florida Business Today''

''The Sun''

Television and radio stations

Counties

Major incorporated cities

, Manatee County * Bonita Springs, Lee County *

, Lee County *

, Collier County * North Port, Sarasota County *

, Sarasota County * Punta Gorda, Charlotte County

Major unincorporated communities

''Communities listed have a population greater than 30,000 according to the 2000

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

.'' *

Lehigh Acres Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated area and Municipal District in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 Census the population was 135,272. Lehigh Acres is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Leh ...