County outline
Where Miami-Dade County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 79.5% of Miami-Dade County’s measured area and water for 20.5%. Its combined area converts to 6,188.3 square kilometers or approximately 1,529,165 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,899.994 | 4,920.962 | 1,215,996.2 |
| Water | 489.327 | 1,267.351 | 313,169.3 |
| Total | 2,389.321 | 6,188.313 | 1,529,165.4 |
How Miami-Dade County compares
By original Census land area, Miami-Dade County ranks #3 of 67 in Florida and #302 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 2.728 times the Florida county-equivalent median of 696.5 square miles. It accounts for 3.5% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Florida ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Miami-Dade County
The Census Bureau estimates that 2,802,029 people lived in Miami-Dade County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #7 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #1 of 67 in Florida. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 2,701,762, the population has grown by 100,267 (+3.7%), compared with +8.9% for Florida as a whole.
With 1,900 square miles of land, that is 1,475 people per square mile (569 per km²), placing Miami-Dade County #121 nationally for density and #6 in Florida. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Florida median is 209. Put another way, there are about 0.434 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 2,695,519 | 2,670,141 | 2,733,972 | 2,793,511 | 2,812,144 | 2,802,029 |
| Change | — | −25,378 | +63,831 | +59,539 | +18,633 | −10,115 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Miami-Dade County
34 incorporated places lie at least partly in Miami-Dade County. Together they are home to 1,590,627 people (56.8%); the other 1,211,402 (43.2%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.
The largest is Miami city, with 489,812 residents in the county. Among places with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, South Miami city grew fastest since then (+13.5%).
| Incorporated place | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami cityCounty seat | 489,812 | +10.8% | 36 |
| Hialeah city | 230,968 | +3.5% | 21.6 |
| Miami Gardens city | 113,579 | +1.9% | 18.5 |
| Homestead city | 86,242 | +6.8% | 15.1 |
| Doral city | 81,634 | +7.6% | 13.8 |
| Miami Beach city | 81,594 | −1.6% | 7.693 |
| North Miami city | 60,884 | +1.2% | 8.459 |
| Coral Gables city | 49,578 | +0.7% | 12.9 |
| North Miami Beach city | 46,236 | +5.8% | 4.844 |
| Cutler Bay town | 44,750 | −1.5% | 9.887 |
| Aventura city | 39,880 | −0.9% | 2.648 |
| Miami Lakes town | 33,067 | +8.6% | 5.657 |
| Palmetto Bay village | 24,886 | +1.8% | 8.285 |
| Hialeah Gardens city | 22,777 | −1.3% | 3.222 |
| Sunny Isles Beach city | 22,395 | +0.2% | 1.011 |
Show the other 19 places
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater city | 20,828 | +7.6% | 3.87 |
| Pinecrest village | 18,635 | +1.4% | 7.451 |
| Opa-locka city | 16,177 | −1.8% | 4.308 |
| Key Biscayne village | 14,815 | +0.1% | 1.247 |
| South Miami city | 13,660 | +13.5% | 2.267 |
| Miami Springs city | 13,611 | −1.8% | 2.879 |
| Florida City city | 13,576 | +3.9% | 6.004 |
| Miami Shores village | 11,669 | +0.9% | 2.487 |
| North Bay Village city | 8,099 | −0.7% | 0.37 |
| West Miami city | 7,125 | −1.6% | 0.709 |
| Bay Harbor Islands town | 6,021 | +1.7% | 0.396 |
| Surfside town | 5,591 | −1.6% | 0.557 |
| Biscayne Park village | 3,062 | −1.8% | 0.62 |
| Bal Harbour village | 3,036 | −1.8% | 0.383 |
| Virginia Gardens village | 2,307 | −2.3% | 0.294 |
| El Portal village | 1,943 | −2.4% | 0.416 |
| Medley town | 1,075 | +1% | 6.625 |
| Golden Beach town | 1,029 | +7.2% | 0.326 |
| Indian Creek village | 86 | +2.4% | 0.428 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Miami-Dade County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Miami-Dade County is a central county of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL metropolitan division. Its 3 county equivalents have 6,391,072 residents on 5,067.3 square miles of land; Miami-Dade County accounts for 37.5% of the land and 43.8% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #51 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #8 by population. It belongs to the Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade County | 2,802,029 | 1,900 |
| Broward County | 2,013,317 | 1,203 |
| Palm Beach County | 1,575,726 | 1,964.3 |
ZIP codes
81 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Miami-Dade County; 80 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
330103301233013330143301533016330183303033031330323303333034330353303933054330553305633101331093312233125331263312733128331293313033131331323313333134331353313633137331383313933140331413314233143331443314533146331473314933150331543315533156331573315833160331613316233165331663316733168331693317033172331733317433175331763317733178331793318033181331823318333184331853318633187331893319033193331943319634141
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County shares a land border with 3 county equivalents. It has more land than 2 of them. The largest neighbor is Collier County (1,997 mi²) and the smallest is Monroe County (983 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Miami-Dade County forms a block of 6,083 mi² of land, of which it holds 31.2%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Miami-Dade | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collier County | 1,997 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Broward County | 1,203 | 1.6× smaller | Compare |
| Monroe County | 983 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
How big is Miami-Dade County compared with U.S. states?
Miami-Dade County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1.8 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). Florida’s county land could hold about 28 areas the size of Miami-Dade County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 43.6 miles (70.1 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Miami-Dade County?
Miami-Dade County has more land than 2,920 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Miami-Dade County at #251 nationally by total area, 51 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 20.5%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 19.3 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Miami-Dade County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #301 | Grays Harbor County, Washington | 1,902.3 | Compare |
| #302 | Miami-Dade County, Florida | 1,900 | This county |
| #303 | Boise County, Idaho | 1,899.4 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 25.613960, -80.501902. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 4,920,961,268 m²; AWATER: 1,267,351,713 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Miami-Dade County?
Miami-Dade County, Florida has 1,900 square miles (4,921 km²) of land and 489.3 square miles of water, for a total area of 2,389.3 square miles. It ranks #302 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Miami-Dade County the largest county in Florida?
No. Miami-Dade County ranks #3 of 67 in Florida by land area. The largest is Collier County, with 1,997 square miles of land.
What counties border Miami-Dade County?
Miami-Dade County shares a land border with Monroe County, Broward County, and Collier County.
What is the population of Miami-Dade County?
The Census Bureau estimates Miami-Dade County had 2,802,029 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #7 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 1,475 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Miami-Dade County?
The county seat of Miami-Dade County is Miami.
What cities and towns are in Miami-Dade County?
Miami-Dade County has 34 incorporated places. The most populous five are Miami city, Hialeah city, Miami Gardens city, Homestead city, and Doral city; 1,211,402 residents live outside any incorporated place.
Is Miami-Dade County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 3 county equivalents and 6,391,072 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Miami-Dade County?
81 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Miami-Dade County, and 80 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Miami-Dade County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 1 of the 50 states, including Rhode Island (1,033.9 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Miami-Dade County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 1,215,996 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 1,529,165 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.