To a stranger entering the state from the north, the Florida landscape may appear devoid of human imprint. It is being used, but the use is of a type unfamiliar to many visitors. About half of Florida’s area consists of commercial, national, and state forests, state and federal parks, lakes, beaches, and military reservations. About two-fifths of the state is farmland, and much of this is in either pasture or timber. Only a small fraction of Florida’s total land is used for harvested crops.

Farmsteads are common in northern Florida, where field crops are important, but even there timber covers vast areas. Citrus groves occupy much of central Florida and the east coast, while vast expanses of cattle land spread along the west coast and north and south of the citrus belt. In the southern part of the state, the cultivation of sugarcane and vegetables around Lake Okeechobee has produced the present-day equivalent of plantation agriculture. The small, private farm has little place in these systems, having been superseded by mechanization and the use of migratory labour. The adverse social conditions of migrant workers, which have occasionally given rise to national concern, remain one of the negative aspects of a generally affluent state. The rise of corporate agriculture has led to an inevitable increase in farm size and a corresponding reduction in farm numbers.

Florida, famous especially for its oranges, produces the bulk of the country’s citrus fruit and is second only to California in vegetable production. Citrus fruits account for a significant portion of farm receipts, and Florida’s grapefruit production not only is the highest in the country but also represents a large proportion of the world total. Tomatoes are the leading vegetable crop. Sugarcane is the primary Florida field crop, and the state produces roughly half of the country’s total.

Forestry activities are supported by about half of the state (mostly in the north), and livestock raising is practiced on the state’s large grasslands (mostly in the central and southern areas). Commerical fishing long has been an important element of the state’s economy, although productivity started to decline in the 1990s. Aquaculture is also significant and includes the raising of aquatic plants and tropical fish for aquariums as well as various shellfish and finfish for human consumption. Cooperatives exist to help market fish and other aquatic products.

Resources

Directly or indirectly, Florida’s tropical and subtropical climate affects nearly every aspect of the local economy, and it can be quite justifiably considered the state’s chief resource. Together with land and water—both of which have contributed to economic development—climate forms the basis of the state’s wealth. The water resources, important to the fishing industry and tourism alike, include not only a vast expanse of fresh inland water but also a large area of adjacent salt water.

Florida yields several important minerals. Phosphate, which is used in fertilizer and livestock feed and by the chemical industry, is found in the west-central portion of the state. Although production began to decline in the early 21st century, Florida continues to contribute a major portion of the national and global phosphate supply. Ores of titanium, zircon, and such other important heavy minerals as thorium and cerium are mined near Jacksonville, Starke, and Vero Beach and in west-central Florida. Petroleum is produced in the northwest and the southwest. Kaolin (china clay) is mined in Putnam county; fuller’s earth comes from the Tallahassee region; and clay, sand, and gravel are mined in numerous locations, with pure silica sand extracted mostly in areas around the 100-foot (30-metre) contour line. Limestone, from the northern portion of the peninsula, is used as building stone and road-surfacing material and in cement, concrete, and fertilizer; peat, used as a soil conditioner, is dug in many areas. The versatility of the marine resources of Florida is indicated by a plant at Port St. Joe on the Gulf Coast for the recovery of magnesium from seawater.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is less significant to Florida’s economy than it is to most states in the South. Florida never developed the textile industry that was so vital to its northern neighbours. The processing of food products was surpassed as Florida’s largest industry by the manufacture of computers, electronic supplies, and transportation equipment in the early 21st century. Other important industries have included printing and publishing and the manufacture of machinery, chemicals, and wood products. Together the manufacturing industries employ only a fraction of the labour force. The state was initially somewhat slow to develop high-technology industries, but activity in this area has been increasing rapidly.

Construction is also an important industry in the state. The steady growth in population since the 1950s, combined with the periodic need to rebuild following devastating storms, has created great demand for housing and numerous jobs in the construction industry.

Services and taxation

Tourism is the largest income-producing activity in the state. In the early 20th century Florida attracted tourists mainly in the winter months, but since that time tourism has developed into a year-round business. The Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches that form the basis of the state’s popular “vacationland” image are seldom the only destination for the Florida visitor. Other attractions include the large theme parks, professional and collegiate sporting events, golf, hunting and fishing, and an abundance of parkland, including three national parks, two national seashores, a national preserve, as well as several national monuments and memorials and numerous state parks. Other major service activities in Florida include trade, finance, insurance, real estate, government, information technology, and transportation.

Florida has no state income tax on individuals but does tax corporate income, which produces about 5 percent of the total tax revenue. More than half of the total comes from the general sales and use tax. The remainder derives from special taxes on a wide range of items, including unemployment compensation, gasoline, motor vehicles and mobile homes, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, utilities, insurance premiums, pari-mutuel wagering, and inheritances. A state lottery, established in 1988, offers an additional source of revenue.

Transportation

Florida’s transportation system is comprehensive, covering the entire state except for certain isolated areas in the Everglades. In general, highway arteries run across the north of the state, from Jacksonville to Pensacola; down the east coast, from Jacksonville to Miami; diagonally across the state, from Jacksonville to Tampa–St. Petersburg on the west coast, bisecting the state from Tampa–St. Petersburg to Daytona Beach; and through the southwestern portion, linking Tampa–St. Petersburg to Miami. Rail and air traffic also follow these patterns. Although there is no direct rail link between Miami and Tampa, there is a heavily traveled air route between the two cities.

The primary throughways are the interstate and state turnpike systems that connect all major cities. There are several airports with regularly scheduled flights and numerous private airfields; the international terminals at Tampa, Orlando, and Miami are among the busiest in the country. An extensive rail network provides passenger and freight service to most areas. An integrated system for domestic and foreign shipping is provided by more than a dozen deepwater ports and several lesser ports and harbours, while more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of navigable coastal and inland channels are maintained by the federal government.

Florida is home to the country’s major spaceport, the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, which occupies some 220 square miles (570 square km). This spaceport is not only a major Florida industry but has also become a prime tourist attraction.