{"id":1100,"date":"2023-02-05T09:41:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-05T09:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=1100"},"modified":"2026-07-31T18:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:07:35","slug":"miami-dade-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/miami-dade-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami-Dade County, Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami-Dade County is a county in Florida, United States, at the southeastern tip of the
\npeninsula between Biscayne Bay and the Everglades. It had a population of 2,701,767 at the 2020
\ncensus, an estimated 2,802,029 by 2025, and covers 1,898.75 square miles (4,917.75 km2) centred
\nnear 25\u00b037\u2032N 80\u00b030\u2032W.<\/p>\n

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

Towns & Villages in Miami-Dade County<\/h2>\n

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

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nPop.<\/th>\nZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Miami<\/td>\nCity · seat<\/td>\n442,241<\/td>\n33128<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hialeah<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n223,109<\/td>\n33012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miami Gardens<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n111,640<\/td>\n33056<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miami Beach<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n82,890<\/td>\n33139<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Homestead<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n80,737<\/td>\n33030<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Doral<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n75,874<\/td>\n33172<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Miami<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n60,191<\/td>\n33161<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cutler Bay<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n45,425<\/td>\n33189<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Miami Beach<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n43,676<\/td>\n33162<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coral Gables<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n49,248<\/td>\n33134<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aventura<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n40,242<\/td>\n33180<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Palmetto Bay<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n24,439<\/td>\n33157<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hialeah Gardens<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n23,068<\/td>\n33018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sunny Isles Beach<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n22,342<\/td>\n33160<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sweetwater<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n19,363<\/td>\n33172<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pinecrest<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n18,388<\/td>\n33156<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Key Biscayne<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n14,809<\/td>\n33149<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Opa-locka<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n16,463<\/td>\n33054<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miami Springs<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n13,859<\/td>\n33166<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Florida City<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n13,085<\/td>\n33034<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miami Shores<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n11,567<\/td>\n33138<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Miami<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n12,026<\/td>\n33143<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miami Lakes<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n30,467<\/td>\n33014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Bay Village<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n8,159<\/td>\n33141<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West Miami<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n7,233<\/td>\n33144<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bay Harbor Islands<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n5,922<\/td>\n33154<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Surfside<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n5,689<\/td>\n33154<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Biscayne Park<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n3,117<\/td>\n33161<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bal Harbour<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n3,093<\/td>\n33154<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Virginia Gardens<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n2,364<\/td>\n33166<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El Portal<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n1,986<\/td>\n33138<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Medley<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n1,056<\/td>\n33166<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Golden Beach<\/td>\nTown<\/td>\n961<\/td>\n33160<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indian Creek<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n84<\/td>\n33154<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Several names run together. Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes and Miami Springs
\nare five separate municipalities, none inside another. North Miami and North Miami Beach are
\nalso distinct cities — North Miami Beach is not a neighborhood of North Miami, and neither
\nborders Miami Beach directly. South Miami is a small city near Coral Gables, not the same place
\nas the unincorporated South Miami Heights CDP eleven miles further south.<\/p>\n

Major Unincorporated Communities<\/h2>\n

Miami-Dade also has 37 census-designated places, home to roughly a million more residents
\noutside any city or village limit. The 25 largest by 2020 population:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nPop.<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Kendall<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n80,241<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fontainebleau<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n59,870<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hammocks<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n59,480<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Westchester<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n56,384<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kendale Lakes<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n55,646<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tamiami<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n54,212<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Country Club<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n49,967<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Princeton<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n39,308<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Miami Heights<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n36,770<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kendall West<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n36,536<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Richmond West<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n35,884<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West Little River<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n34,128<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Golden Glades<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n32,499<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Leisure City<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n26,324<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ives Estates<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n25,005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Crossings<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n23,276<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coral Terrace<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n23,142<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Glenvar Heights<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n20,786<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ojus<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n19,673<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pinewood<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n17,246<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Country Walk<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n16,951<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brownsville<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n16,583<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Three Lakes<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n16,540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sunset<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n15,912<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gladeview<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n14,927<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Twelve smaller CDPs are not listed above — Naranja, Palmetto Estates, Olympia Heights,
\nGoulds, Westwood Lakes, West Perrine, Westview, Richmond Heights, Palm Springs North, Homestead
\nBase and Fisher Island among them — each under 14,000 residents. Fisher Island, reached
\nonly by ferry or boat, is the smallest at 561.<\/p>\n

ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n

Miami-Dade County has 127 ZIP codes, too many to list individually. The 331xx prefix covers
\nMiami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Doral and the unincorporated areas around them; the
\n330xx prefix covers the county’s southern half, from Homestead and Florida City up through
\nCutler Bay and Palmetto Bay. Downtown Miami and the Government Center civic core, where the
\ncounty seat’s offices sit, use 33128. Small barrier-island municipalities — Bal Harbour,
\nBay Harbor Islands, Surfside and Indian Creek — share 33154, and Golden Beach shares 33160
\nwith neighboring Sunny Isles Beach. A single ZIP code routinely crosses two or three municipal
\nlines here, so the code alone does not identify the city.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/h2>\n

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

Broward County<\/a> borders Miami-Dade
\nto the north, Collier County<\/a> to the
\nwest across the Everglades, and
\nMonroe County<\/a> to the
\nsouthwest, taking in both the mainland Everglades interior and the northern tip of the Florida
\nKeys.<\/p>\n

Demographics<\/h2>\n

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

Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\n

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

History<\/h2>\n

The Florida territorial legislature created Dade County on February 4, 1836, naming it for
\nMajor Francis L. Dade, an army officer killed by Seminole forces near present-day Bushnell the
\nyear before. Miami itself was not incorporated until 1896, after Henry Flagler extended his
\nFlorida East Coast Railway to Biscayne Bay. The county was renamed Miami-Dade on November 13,
\n1997, to reflect the city’s role as its economic center. Hurricane Andrew struck south of Miami
\non August 24, 1992, destroying tens of thousands of homes in Homestead and Florida City and
\ncausing more than $25 billion in damage, then the costliest hurricane in US history.<\/p>\n

Getting There<\/h2>\n

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