The local economy of Florida and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.5%
+0.5 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Miami-Dade County 2.7%, highest Taylor County 8.2%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,518
+4.3%vs a year ago
9,962,755 jobs at 894,107 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
158,370
-12.8%this year vs last year
Most in Miami-Dade County 11,258, Lee County 11,252.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
+113,945
+6.8 per 1,000residents
623,517 moved in and 509,572 moved out. Most newcomers came from New York.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Florida gas price
$4.15
+$1.16vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Escambia County $4.00, highest Monroe County $4.40. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Florida, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
646K
+1.9%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
9.99M
+3.7%vs 2022
Largest sector: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (23.8%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$599.4B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$60,013
Highest sector: Utilities $124,460.
Per employee per year
Share of Florida's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Services | 1,918,405 | $61,952 |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 798,469 | $25,217 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 337,870 | $77,027 |
| Grocery Stores | 239,253 | $28,105 |
| Offices of Physicians | 238,618 | $97,610 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 178,152 | $36,580 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 177,369 | $102,256 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 173,114 | $62,186 |
| Traveler Accommodation | 170,878 | $43,430 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 154,997 | $31,434 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 128,685 | $91,824 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | 123,346 | $82,674 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Florida, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Florida is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Florida, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Florida was 4.5% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.0% a year earlier. 10,612,619 people were employed out of a labor force of 11,115,030. Among its counties, Miami-Dade County had the lowest rate (2.7%) and Taylor County the highest (8.2%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Florida was $1,518 in Q1 2026, up 4.3% from a year earlier, across 9,962,755 jobs at 894,107 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 13,980 new homes in Florida in August 2026 (9,697 single-family and 3,973 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 106,945, down 12.8% from the same months last year, and 158,370 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Miami-Dade County (11,258), Lee County (11,252), Manatee County (10,711) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 623,517 people moved to Florida and 509,572 moved away, a net gain of 113,945 (+6.8 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from New York, Georgia, California, and most people who left went to Georgia, Texas, New York.
Regular gasoline in Florida averaged $4.15 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.16 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $5.90. Among its counties, Escambia County had the lowest regular price ($4.00) and Monroe County the highest ($4.40). In the weekly survey, Florida averaged $3.97 in the week of October 5, 2026.
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (2,373,309 employees), Health Care and Social Assistance (1,286,330 employees), Retail Trade (1,146,619 employees) were the largest sectors in Florida in 2023. In all, 645,575 business locations employed 9,988,508 people at an average pay of $60,013 a year.