Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county in Florida, United States, at the southeastern tip of the
peninsula between Biscayne Bay and the Everglades. It had a population of 2,701,767 at the 2020
census, an estimated 2,802,029 by 2025, and covers 1,898.75 square miles (4,917.75 km2) centred
near 25°37′N 80°30′W.

Miami is the county seat and the county’s largest city, with 442,241 residents at the 2020
census; its postal code is 33128. Miami-Dade holds 34 incorporated municipalities — 19
cities, 6 towns and 9 villages — plus 37 unincorporated census-designated places, and it
runs on Eastern time. Its FIPS code is 12086.

Towns & Villages in Miami-Dade County

All 34 incorporated municipalities are listed below, from Miami (442,241) down to Indian
Creek (84). Nine are villages, six are towns, and the rest are cities; Miami carries the
· seat marker.

Several names run together. Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes and Miami Springs
are five separate municipalities, none inside another. North Miami and North Miami Beach are
also distinct cities — North Miami Beach is not a neighborhood of North Miami, and neither
borders Miami Beach directly. South Miami is a small city near Coral Gables, not the same place
as the unincorporated South Miami Heights CDP eleven miles further south.

Major Unincorporated Communities

Miami-Dade also has 37 census-designated places, home to roughly a million more residents
outside any city or village limit. The 25 largest by 2020 population:

Twelve smaller CDPs are not listed above — Naranja, Palmetto Estates, Olympia Heights,
Goulds, Westwood Lakes, West Perrine, Westview, Richmond Heights, Palm Springs North, Homestead
Base and Fisher Island among them — each under 14,000 residents. Fisher Island, reached
only by ferry or boat, is the smallest at 561.

ZIP Codes

Miami-Dade County has 127 ZIP codes, too many to list individually. The 331xx prefix covers
Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Doral and the unincorporated areas around them; the
330xx prefix covers the county’s southern half, from Homestead and Florida City up through
Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay. Downtown Miami and the Government Center civic core, where the
county seat’s offices sit, use 33128. Small barrier-island municipalities — Bal Harbour,
Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside and Indian Creek — share 33154, and Golden Beach shares 33160
with neighboring Sunny Isles Beach. A single ZIP code routinely crosses two or three municipal
lines here, so the code alone does not identify the city.

Geography

Miami-Dade sits on a low limestone shelf between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the
east and the Everglades to the west; roughly one-third of the county’s land, mostly its western
and southern reaches, lies inside Everglades National Park. The county’s 4,917.75 km2 of land is
matched by 1,378.97 square miles of water, Biscayne Bay and its barrier islands chief among it.
Biscayne National Park protects the bay’s southern reef tract off Homestead and Florida City.

Broward County borders Miami-Dade
to the north, Collier County to the
west across the Everglades, and
Monroe County to the
southwest, taking in both the mainland Everglades interior and the northern tip of the Florida
Keys.

Demographics

Miami-Dade’s population was 2,701,767 at the 2020 census, estimated at 2,802,029 by 2025.
Miami (442,241) and Hialeah (223,109) are the two largest incorporated cities; among
unincorporated places, Kendall (80,241) and Fontainebleau (59,870) lead. Median household
income was $71,753 in 2024, below Florida’s statewide figure. Population density across the
county’s 1,898.75 square miles of land works out to roughly 1,423 residents per square mile,
though density varies sharply between the dense urban core near Miami and Hialeah and the
sparsely settled Everglades interior.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with 191,387
workers, followed by retail trade (143,438) and construction (121,527). Baptist Health South
Florida employs more than 26,000 people across 12 facilities; Jackson Memorial Hospital, the
country’s third-largest public hospital, employs over 12,000; the University of Miami Health
System adds roughly 18,000 more. PortMiami, on the eastern edge of downtown, handles the bulk of
US cargo and cruise traffic to Latin America and the Caribbean, and Miami-Dade County Public
Schools and the county, state and federal governments round out the largest employers. The
Calle Ocho Festival, held each March along Little Havana’s SW 8th Street, is the county’s
largest annual public event.

History

The Florida territorial legislature created Dade County on February 4, 1836, naming it for
Major Francis L. Dade, an army officer killed by Seminole forces near present-day Bushnell the
year before. Miami itself was not incorporated until 1896, after Henry Flagler extended his
Florida East Coast Railway to Biscayne Bay. The county was renamed Miami-Dade on November 13,
1997, to reflect the city’s role as its economic center. Hurricane Andrew struck south of Miami
on August 24, 1992, destroying tens of thousands of homes in Homestead and Florida City and
causing more than $25 billion in damage, then the costliest hurricane in US history.

Getting There

Interstate 95 ends in downtown Miami; Florida’s Turnpike runs the length of the county from
the north down to Florida City, and Interstate 75 enters from Broward County and curves west
along the Everglades edge. The Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) and Palmetto Expressway (SR 826)
carry most east-west and north-south commuter traffic within the county.

• Fort Lauderdale — 25 miles north
• Naples — 110 miles northwest
• Key West — 160 miles southwest
• Orlando — 235 miles north

Miami International Airport, in unincorporated Miami-Dade near Doral, is the county’s main
commercial airport. Amtrak’s Miami station sits in Hialeah at NW 79th Street, serving the
Silver Meteor and Silver Star lines north to the Northeast Corridor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Miami-Dade County?
It is in southeastern Florida, at the state’s southern tip, bordered by Biscayne Bay and the
Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades to the west.

What is Miami-Dade County’s population?
2,701,767 at the 2020 census, an estimated 2,802,029 by 2025 — the most populous county in
Florida.

How big is Miami-Dade County?
1,898.75 square miles of land (4,917.75 km2), plus 1,378.97 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Miami-Dade County?
Miami, the county’s largest city with 442,241 residents.

How many cities and towns are in Miami-Dade County?
34 incorporated municipalities — 19 cities, 6 towns and 9 villages — plus 37
unincorporated census-designated places.

What ZIP codes cover Miami-Dade County?
127 ZIP codes in the 330xx and 331xx ranges; downtown Miami’s civic core is 33128.

Is Miami the same place as Miami Beach or Miami Gardens?
No. Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes and Miami Springs are five separate,
non-overlapping municipalities within the county.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Florida.