North Florida is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

and

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

and nearby localities in Northeast Florida, an interior region known as North Central Florida, and the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

. North Florida is considered to be part of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, namely the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

, and contains the state capital of Tallahassee.

Geography

Area

As with many vernacular regions, North Florida does not have any officially designated boundaries or status, and is defined differently in different sources. A 2007 study of Florida's regions by geographers Ary Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski found that Floridians surveyed identified "North Florida" as comprising the northernmost areas of the state, including both the peninsula and the

. Additionally, two localized "directional" regions had emerged: North East Florida, also known as the "First Coast", representing the area around

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast, and North Central Florida, comprising the central area.Lamme & Oldakowsi, p. 329. North Florida is one of Florida's three most common directional regions, along with

and

.Lamme & Oldakowski, p. 335. The region includes smaller vernacular regions, particularly along the coast, including the

Emerald Coast The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about through five counties—Escambia County, Florida, Escambia, Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa Co ...

and the Big Bend on the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

and the First Coast and

Halifax area The Halifax area or simply Daytona is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the area around Daytona Beach. It is roughly coextensive with the Daytona Beach metropolitan area and Volusia County. There have been a number of attempts ...

on the

. Lamme and Oldakowski note that the directional region is more commonly used in the interior areas than on the coast. Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency, divides the state into three economic regions, used within the agency and other state and outside entities, including the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the U.S. state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the power ...

. They identify three regions within the area identified as "North Florida" by Enterprise Florida: Northeast Florida, North Central Florida, and Northwest Florida (representing most of the Panhandle).

Regions

The following regions are entirely or partly within Northern Florida: Directional regions: * Northeast Florida * North Central Florida * Northwest Florida Metropolitan areas: *

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

* Tallahassee * Gainesville * Ocala * Fort Walton Beach *

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

* Palm Coast Vernacular regions: * Big Bend *

* First Coast *

* Forgotten Coast *

* Nature Coast

Cityscapes

Climate

Demographics

is the largest

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

in North Florida. Its cities include St. Augustine, Orange Park, and Fernandina Beach, this area is sometimes referred to as the First Coast. Other metropolitan areas include Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Panama City-Lynn Haven, and Palm Coast. Important cities considered micropolitan areas include Lake City and Palatka.

Largest cities by population

Culture

Lamme and Oldakowski's survey identifies several demographic, political, and cultural elements that characterize North Florida and distinguish it from other areas of the state. North Floridians considered North Florida to be part of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and " Dixie". Additionally, residents of some parts of North Florida considered their area to be in the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

, while residents of other parts of the state did not. A popular expression of people in this region of the state goes "In Florida, the farther north you go, the farther South you are." Politically, in contrast to Central Florida, where a majority considered their part of the state moderate, and South Florida, which was more liberal, residents of North Florida overwhelmingly (76%) considered their part of the state conservative; 16% considered it moderate and 8% considered it liberal.Lamme & Oldakowsi, p. 336. Lamme and Oldakowski's findings track with Barney Warf and Cynthia Waddell's studies of Florida's political geography during the 2000 Presidential election. Lamme and Oldakowski's survey also found some cultural indicators that characterize North Florida. In general, North Florida was similar to Central Florida and differed from South Florida in these measures. In North and Central Florida, American cuisine was the most popular food, in contrast to South Florida, where ethnic foods were equally popular.Lamme & Oldakowsi, p. 337. Additionally, while there was little geographical variation for most styles of music, there was regional variation for both

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

music. Country was popular in North and Central Florida, and less so in South Florida, while Latin was less popular in North and Central Florida, and more so in South Florida.

Economy

Lamme and Oldakowski noted that North Florida's economy was much more diversified than Central and South Florida, where tourism was by far the most significant industry. While tourism was a significant factor in North Florida's economy, particularly in the Emerald Coast, other important industries included agriculture in rural areas, education in Tallahassee and Gainesville, and military and finance in Jacksonville.Lamme & Oldakowsi, pp. 336–337. Major military bases in the region include the

Pensacola Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

, Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Camp Blanding, Naval Station Mayport, Corry Station Naval Technical Training Center, Naval Support Activity Panama City,

Blount Island Command Blount Island Command is a Marine Corps support facility located in Jacksonville, Florida. History In 1977, President Carter, President Jimmy Carter signed the directive that created the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force. By 1980, the Marine ...

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...

and Hurlburt Field. Major attractions include the Big Kahuna's,

Marineland of Florida Marineland of Florida (usually just called Marineland), one of Florida's first marine mammal parks, is billed as "the world's first oceanarium". Marineland functions as an entertainment and Human swimming, swim-with-the-dolphins facility, and reo ...

, Florida State Capitol, World Golf Village, Historic Pensacola Village, and historic sites in St. Augustine. North Florida also has a wide variety of natural attractions including the Ravine Gardens State Park, Big Lagoon State Park, Osceola National Forest, and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. North Florida also has three major zoos, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park and Gulf Breeze Zoo. Major malls and shopping districts include The Avenues, Butler Plaza, Five Points, Gateway Town Center, Governor's Square, The Oaks Mall, Orange Park Mall, Paddock Mall, Pier Park, Regency Square, River City Marketplace, St. Johns Town Center and University Town Plaza.

Major business districts

The following are major central business districts: * Downtown Jacksonville * Downtown Pensacola * Downtown Tallahassee

Notable companies

Thousands of companies are headquartered in North Florida. Among those, the following 4 are in the

Fortune 1000 {{location map+ , United States , float=right , width=400, relief=1 , caption=''Fortune'' 1000 company headquarters locations. Top 20 companies labeled, places= {{location map~ , United States , lat= 36.365378 , long= -94.217629 , label= Walmart, ...

: Additional notable companies headquartered (or with a significant presence) in North Florida include (some defunct or subsumed):

Parks and other protected areas

National Monuments and other federally protected areas

Areas under federal protection include Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Fort Caroline National Memorial,

Gulf Islands National Seashore Gulf Islands National Seashore is an American National seashore that offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. In 2023, it was the fifth-mos ...

, and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. National forests occupy large sections of North Florida, including the

Apalachicola National Forest The Apalachicola National Forest is the largest U.S. National Forest in the state of Florida. It encompasses and is the only national forest located in the Florida Panhandle. The National Forest provides water and land-based outdoors activiti ...

, Choctawhatchee National Forest and Osceola National Forest.

Other parks and protected areas

* Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park * Paynes Prairie *

Ocala National Forest The Ocala National Forest is the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers of North Central Florida. It is located east of Ocala, Florida, Ocala and southeast of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The ...

* Torreya State Park * Yellow River Marsh * George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park * San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park * Faver-Dykes State Park * O'Leno State Park * Dunns Creek * Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park * Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve * Silver Springs State Park * Econfina River State Park * River Rise Preserve State Park * Tarkiln Bayou * Bald Point State Park * Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park * St. Marks River State Park * Ichetucknee Springs State Park * Grayton Beach State Park * Ochlockonee River State Park * Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park * Orman House * John Gorrie State Museum * Dudley Farm * Perdido Key State Park * Amelia Island State Park * Henderson Beach State Park * Letchworth Mounds Archaeological State Park * Camp Helen State Park * Falling Waters State Park * Eden Gardens State Park * Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area * Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park * Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park * Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park * Troy Spring State Park * Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park * Ravine Gardens State Park * Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park * Fort Mose Historic State Park * Washington Oaks State Gardens * Cedar Key Museum State Park * San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park * Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail State Park * Forest Capital Museum State Park * Constitution Convention Museum State Park * DeSoto Site Historic State Park * Madison Blue Springs State Park * Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park * Deer Lake State Park * St. George Island State Park * St. Joseph Peninsula State Park * Suwannee River State Park * Topsail Hill Preserve State Park * Anastasia State Park * Big Talbot Island State Park * Fort George Island Cultural State Park * Little Talbot Island State Park * Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park * Rainbow Springs State Park * Fanning Springs State Park *

Fort Clinch State Park The Fort Clinch State Park is a Florida State Park, located on a peninsula near the northernmost point of Amelia Island, along the Amelia River. Its include the 19th-century Fort Clinch, sand dunes, plains, maritime hammock and estuarine ti ...

* Florida Caverns State Park * St. Andrews State Park * Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park * Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park * Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park * Big Lagoon State Park * Lafayette Blue Springs State Park * Three Rivers State Park *

Blackwater River State Park Blackwater River State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park located fifteen miles northeast of Milton, Florida, Milton, near Harold, Florida, Harold, off U.S. Route 90 in Florida, U.S. 90. The address is 7720 Deaton Bridge Road. Hi ...

* Lake Talquin * Ponce de Leon Springs State Park

Educational institutions

Public institutions

State University System * Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University ( Tallahassee) *

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

( Tallahassee) *

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

( Gainesville) * University of North Florida (

) * University of West Florida (

) State College System * Chipola College ( Marianna) * Florida Gateway College ( Lake City) * Florida State College at Jacksonville (

) * Gulf Coast State College (

) * North Florida Community College ( Madison) *

Northwest Florida State College Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) is a public university, public college with its main campus in Niceville, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, offering a ...

( Niceville) * Pensacola State College (

) * Santa Fe College ( Gainesville) * St. Johns River State College ( Palatka) * Tallahassee State College ( Tallahassee)

Private institutions

F-117 on ice at McKinley Climatic Laboratory 022808-F-0000P-064

''(Partial list)'' * Edward Waters College (

) *

Flagler College Flagler College is a private university, private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. The school was founded in 1968 and offers 37 undergraduate majors and two master's programs. It also had a Flagler College – Tallahassee Campus, ...

( St. Augustine) * Jacksonville University (

) * Jones College (

) *

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science The Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (MCCMS; formerly known as Mayo Clinic College of Medicine) is a private graduate-only research university based in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It trains physicians, scientists, and allied h ...

(

)

Research institutions

''(Partial list)'' * Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition * Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy * McKinley Climatic Laboratory

Transportation

Airports

The following airports currently have regularly scheduled commercial service:

Rail

* Jacksonville Transportation Authority operates a monorail system known as the Skyway *

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

: Jacksonville Station and Palatka Union Depot are currently the only intercity rail stops in North Florida ** ''

Silver Meteor The ''Silver Meteor'' is a Long-distance Amtrak routes, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was t ...

'' - Eastern seaboard ** ''

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

'' - Eastern seaboard ** ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...

'' - East-west route (suspended since 2005)

Transit organizations

* Escambia County Area Transit * Gainesville Regional Transit System * Jacksonville Transportation Authority * Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission * Okaloosa County Transit * Ride Solution * StarMetro

Ferries

Jacksonville Landing - Black Raven and Voyager

* Drayton Island Ferry * Fort Gates Ferry * Jacksonville Water Taxi * Mayport Ferry

Roadways

Interstates: * I-10

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

Interstate 110 * I-75

Interstate 75 * I-95

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

Interstate 295 (Jacksonville Beltway) U.S. Routes: * US 1

U.S. Route 1 * US 17

U.S. Route 17 * US 19

U.S. Route 19 * US 23

U.S. Route 23 * US 27

U.S. Route 27 * US 29

U.S. Route 29 * US 41

U.S. Route 41 * US 90

U.S. Route 90 * US 98

U.S. Route 98 * US 129

U.S. Route 129 * US 221

U.S. Route 221 * US 231

U.S. Route 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...

U.S. Route 301 * US 319

U.S. Route 319 * US 331

U.S. Route 331 * US 441

U.S. Route 441

Notes

References

* * * {{Geography of Florida Regions of Florida