Florida's Economy

Historically, the economy of Florida was dependent on agricultural products such as citrus, sugar, cotton and cattle. In the twentieth century, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel have contributed
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Florida in 2010 was$748 billion. Its GDP is the fourth largest economy in the United States.[129] In 2010, it became the fourth largest exporter of trade goods.[130] The major contributors to the state's gross output in 2007 were general services, financial services, trade, transportation and public utilities, manufacturing and construction respectively. In 2010–11, the state budget was $70.5 billion, having reached ahigh of $73.8 billion in 2006–07. Chief Executive Magazine name Florida the third "Best State for Business" in 2011.
The economy is driven almost entirely by its nineteen metropolitan areas. In 2004, they had a combined total of 95.7% of the state's domestic product.
Personal income
Preliminary data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that in 2011, per capita personal income was$39,563, ranking 27th in the nation.[
The state was one of the few states to not have a state minimum wage law of its own and was therefore obliged to follow federal minimum wage law. This changed in 2004, when voters passed a constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage and (unique among minimum wage laws) mandating that it be adjusted for inflation annually. For 2010, the calculatedFlorida minimum wage was lower than the federal rate of $7.25, so the federal rate controlled.
Florida is one of the seven states that do not impose a personal income tax.
According to a study by Experian, Florida has 4 cities in the top 25 cities in the country with the most credit card debt.
There were 2.4 million Floridians living in poverty in 2008. 18.4% of children 18 and younger were livingin poverty.[ Miami is the sixth poorest big city in the United States.
The state also had the second-highest credit card delinquency rate, with 1.45% of cardholders in the state more than 90 days delinquent on one or more credit cards.
In 2010, over 2.5 million Floridians were on food stamps, up from 1.2 million in 2007. To qualify, Floridians must make less than 133% of the federal povertylevel, which would be under $29,000 for a family of four.
Real estate
In the early 20th century, land speculators discovered Florida, and businessmen such as Henry Plant and Henry Flagler developed railroad systems, which led people to move in, drawn by the weather and local economies. From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development that overwhelmed a great deal of farmland.
Because ofthe collective effect on the insurance industry of the hurricane claims of 2004, homeowners insurance has risen 40% to 60% and deductibles have risen.[
At the end of the third quarter in 2008, Florida had the highest mortgage delinquency rate in the country, with 7.8% of mortgages delinquent at least 60 days. A 2009 list of national housing markets that were hard hit in the real estate crashincluded a disproportionate number in Florida.The early 21st century building boom left Florida with 300,000 vacant homes in 2009, according to state figures.In 2009, the US Census Bureau estimated that Floridians spent an average 49.1% of personal income on housing-related costs, the third highest percentage in the country
In the third quarter of 2009, there were 278,189 delinquent loans, 80,327foreclosures.Sales of existing homes for February 2010 was 11,890, up 21% from the same month in 2009. Only two metropolitan areas showed a decrease in homes sold: Panama City and Brevard County. The average sales price for an existing house was $131,000, 7% decrease from the prior year.[
Labor
As of February 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 11.5%.
In 2009, there were 89,706 federal...