South Florida metropolitan area

South Florida redirects here. For the institution of higher learning, please see the University of South Florida, which is located in Tampa.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area, more commonly referred to as South Florida or the Tri-County Area, encompasses a tri-county area of southeastern Florida.

According to the 2000 census, the conurbation (which is officially known as the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL MSA) has a population of 5,007,564, making it the sixth largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Counties

Miami-Dade County

Broward County

Palm Beach County

Cities

Transportation and commerce

The South Florida metropolitan area is served by five major interstate highways operated by the Florida Department of Transportation in conjunction with local agencies. The busiest of the five, I-95, is the chief and most heavily-traveled artery during rush hour traffic, and runs north to south along the coast, ending just south of downtown Miami. I-75 runs east to west, turning south in western Broward County; it connects suburban North Miami-Dade to Naples on the west coast via Alligator Alley, which transverses the Florida Everglades before turning north. I-595 connects the Broward coast and downtown Fort Lauderdale to I-75 and Alligator Alley. I-195 and I-395 both connect the main I-95 route to Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Beach, which is located across Biscayne Bay. I-195 and I-395 also connect (at their interchanges with I-95) to the Airport Expressway (State Road 112) and the Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836), respectively, both of which run west to Miami International Airport; the Dolphin Expressway also connects to Florida's Turnpike and the western suburbs of Miami-Dade County.

Locally, the area is served by three county transit authorities: Palm Tran (Palm Beach County), Broward County Transit, and the largest, Miami-Dade Transit. The latter not only operates bus, but metro rapid transit (the Metrorail) and a downtown people mover (Metromover). Additionally, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority operates Tri-Rail, a commuter rail system that connects the three primary cities of South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach), and most intermediate points.

The metropolis also has two major seaports, the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, both major cruise ship ports. Furthermore, the Port of Miami imports and exports goods from all over the world, making it one of the busiest and heavily traveled ports in the country.

Most of South Florida's business is conducted in Miami, of which, the central business district (downtown) has the largest concentration of international banks in the United States. The area serves as the Latin American headquarters to a number of corporations, including American Airlines, Cisco, Exxon, Microsoft, and Sony.