By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS® Chief Economist
The latest available data on county-level gross domestic product (GDP[1] shows the robustness of Southeast Florida’s economy, expanding at a faster pace in 2023 than the national rate and compared to the pace in 2019 (pre-pandemic year).
GDP rose at the strongest pace in Martin County at 5.7% followed by Palm Beach County at 4.8% and Broward County at 4.1%. In Miami-Dade County, GDP rose 3.5% in 2023. St. Lucie County had the slowest pace at 3.3%. Nationally, GDP rose 2.9%.
Nationally and across the Southeast Florida counties, the pace of growth in 2023 outpaced the pre-pandemic rate of growth in 2019, with the largest uptick in Martin County (5.7% in 2023 vs. 0.9% in 2019) and Miami-Dade County (3.5% in 2023 vs. 0.9% in 2019).
Fastest Growing Industries by County
Production increased across most industries except in the construction industry as borrowing costs continued to rise as the Federal Reserve Board hiked the federal funds rate to a peak of 5.25% to 5.5% in June 2023 to cool inflation back to 2%. Worth noting is that across all the counties, the information services service (“tech”) was one of the fastest-growing sectors. The Information industry includes broadcasting, web hosting, and data processing.
In Miami-Dade County, the strongest growths were in arts, entertainment, and recreation (8.6%), health care and social assistance (6.6%), and information (5.4%). A notable statistic is that Miami-Dade County was the only county where finance and insurance rose (2.4%) while this industry contracted in the other counties and nationally. This statistic speaks to the emergence of Southeast Florida as a major financial center of the South. In 2023, finance and insurance accounted for 6% of GDP, just slightly below the 6.9% share nationally. This share is likely to increase given the anticipated relocation of more financial companies to the South following the footsteps of the relocation of Ken Griffin’s Citadel headquarters to Miami-Dade County. The Citadel’s Supertall Tower corporate headquarters was announced to break ground in the third quarter of 2025.[2]
In Broward County, output rose the strongest in educational services (10.1%), information services (9.0%), and trade (5.5%). A notable statistic is that Broward County has the largest share of information services output relative to total GDP, with a 7.1% share. Data processing companies in Broward include the payroll company ADP (Fort Lauderdale) and Oracle (Sunrise).
In Palm Beach County, the growth leaders were health care and social assistance (9.6%), information (9.3%), and trade (8.3%). A notable statistic for Palm Beach County is its high share of professional and business services to GDP, at 20.2%, compared to about 15% nationally and in Florida. Palm Beach County also posted the highest growth in the information service sector.
In Martin County, the strongest growths were in real estate and rental and leasing (14.8%), information (12.1%), and trade (8.2%). Martin County’s real estate market caters to retirees and vacation buyers, with a high share of wealthy buyers that have sustained demand as elevated mortgage rates sidelined buyers and favored cash buyers. Million-dollar home buyers have taken up a higher share of single-family sales since 2019 across Southeast Florida. During January-October 2024, Palm Beach County had the highest share of million-dollar home sales, at 25% (7% in 2019) followed by Miami-Dade County at 23% (8% in 2019), then Martin County at 20% (6% in 2019), and lastly Broward County at 18% (5% in 2019). As mortgage rates stay elevated in 2025, wealthier buyers are likely to continue to drive sales.[3]
In St. Lucie County, economic production increased the most in health care and social assistance (8.7%), trade (7.9%), and information (6.5%).
Economic Outlook in 2025
The economic outlook for Southeast Florida is fundamentally healthy. Structural fundamentals such as zero income state tax and lower property taxes will continue to drive migration, corporate relocations, and job growth. Housing costs are still lower in Southeast Florida compared to markets where retirees typically come from (New York, California, Massachusetts), and this will also drive migration, corporate relocations, and economic activity.
Read Latest County GDP here
[1] GDP by County, Metro, and Other Areas | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
[2] Griffin: Citadel Will Break Ground On Brickell Supertall Tower In 2025 – The Next Miami
[3] 2024-2025 Southeast Florida Housing Outlook: Modest Price Appreciation Amid Elevated Mortgage Rates – MIAMI REALTORS®
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