[1] If Florida were a sovereign nation (2024), it would rank as the world's 15th-largest economy by nominal GDP according to the International Monetary Fund, ahead of Spain and behind South Korea.

[1][5][6] Agriculture, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel contribute to the state's economy.

[1] Florida is responsible for 5.82% of the United States' approximately $28 trillion gross domestic product (GDP).

[1] As of 2024[update], Florida's nominal GDP is larger than all but 15 countries; if it were a sovereign nation, it would be ranked ahead of Spain and behind South Korea.

[9] Agriculture, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel contribute to the state's economy.

[10] In output, the five largest sectors are: finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, followed by professional and business services; government and government enterprises; educational services, health care, and social assistance; and retail trade.

[18] In 2022, as job numbers continue to surge, Florida's unemployment rate dipped to 2.7 percent in July which hit historic low.

[20] Florida's constitution establishes a state minimum wage, which is adjusted annually for inflation.

[26] In 2002 peppers and tomatoes were #1 and #2 in dollar value for the state and citrus fruit, especially oranges, were also a major part of the economy.

[35] By the late 1700s an export trade had developed with the mid-Atlantic states, with Baltimore the first hub to distribute Florida peaches into the surrounding region.

[35] Similar to the strawberry tool above, a cut-down SNP array for genomic selection has been adapted[36] by University of Florida for peach.

[38][39] Florida produces far less than the leading state, California, but has the advantage of an earlier season than any other in the country.

[40] This – combined with competitor states coming into season – means that late-bearing cultivars are commercially inviable here.

[35] As of 2019[update] oranges make up 93% of Florida's citrus production, followed by 6% for grapefruit, and 1% for tangerines and tangelos.

[41] The largest farm category by sales in Florida is the $2.3 billion ornamental industry, which includes nursery, greenhouse, flowers, and sod products.

[45] The state has a near monopoly on saw palmetto berries, an alternative medicine used to treat prostate and urinary disorders.

[47] The highest temperatures of the summer from July to September end profitable yield and even the heat of June and October limit productivity, such that April to May and November to January are the largest harvests of the year.

[50] The Regional IPM Centers provide integrated pest management plans specifically for the southern part of the state.

Some 109,390 U.S. military personnel stationed in Florida,[55] contributing, directly and indirectly, $52 billion a year to the state's economy.

Governor Jeb Bush realized that watershed events such as Andrew negatively impacted Florida's backbone industry of tourism severely.

Three years later, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) announced it had chosen Florida for its newest expansion.

From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development that overwhelmed a great deal of farmland.

[62] A 2009 list of national housing markets that were hard hit in the real estate crash included 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 US.

Only two metropolitan areas showed a decrease in homes sold: Panama City and Brevard County.

[68] If you can't find something to do in Florida, you're just boring ...Tourism makes up one of the largest sectors of the state economy, with nearly 1.4 million people employed in the tourism industry in 2016 (a record for the state, surpassing the 1.2 million employment from 2015).

[73] Amusement parks, especially in the Greater Orlando area, make up a significant portion of tourism.