Why So Few People Live In Northern Florida

"The farther south you go, the more north you get" is a saying often applied to the state of Florida. And while it's typically referring to the politics, it's actually true for the population distribution as well. As you head farther south into Florida, you'll hit the major metropolitan regions of Orlando, Tampa and Miami respectively, all cities that mirror northern cities in size and prominent. By contrast, north Florida is relatively sparse and vastly less populated overall. So why don't more people live in northern Florida?

--

Video editing support provided by Kat Olsen

[selfdo]

The folks in Palatka, Gainesville, Lake City, Cedar Key, Tallahassee, Marianna, Fort Walton Beach, and Pensacola don't mind that eighty percent of Floridians live south of Ocala. Most of 'em like their QUIET and the laid-back, easy Southern living.

[robertmoore]

The further north you go in Florida the more Southern it gets the saying goes.

[pamjunak]

My husband and I moved to North Florida in 2007 to be close to our daughter who lives in southeast Georgia. Our son-in-law's family has lived in Georgia for a large number of generations. They are definitely southern. We chose Florida ratherbthan Georgia to be closer to the Jacksonville airport. We also like that there are no state taxes. We are very happy that we moved here.

[lavangadevidasi]

The panhandle actually has some of the most beautiful beaches in the state. I am from Florida and have been all over the state. I love that the panhandle is less crowded and you can get better prices there too. It’s much more peaceful and cleaner than Miami and the people are friendly. I love all the small beach towns in that region. Panama City at one time was ranked as having one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

[khaledhelwih]

As a Pensacola native I’m glad he said we don’t have beaches. Keep all these people from coming here (;

[jamesleonard]

I would add, that another reason the panhandle is part of FL and that Tallahassee is the capital, is that FL was largely an agricultural state back in the 1800s and the best farm land is in the northern part of the state. The population in FL didn't really explode until after the invention of Air condition, which made southern parts of the state, with the great beaches, much more attractive.

[JohnSmith-tikp]

The main point was missed here, without air conditioning Florida's population would never have had much growth.

[Omenowl]

A big reason it is “empty” is there are huge military bases in Northwest florida with Hurlburt AFB, Eglin AFB, Pensacola NAS and Tyndall AFB. That encompasses a large amount of land in escambia, santa rosa, okaloosa, and walton counties. The military also limits the height of buildings.

[TiffanyWeiland]

We live in northern Florida, about 30 mins outside of Lake City. We moved from the Tampa area. Happy we did! ❤

[robhos]

What isn't mentioned is that the central interior part of Florida has A LOT of rural farm and ranch land that nobody really knows or thinks about. Everyone thinks all of Florida is beaches, but that's only along the coastline. Whether in the north or south part of FL, there are tons of acres of farm and ranch land that hasn't been developed into suburbs yet... but it probably will soon.

[codyr]

A lot of people don't know that the Florida panhandle has the most beautiful beaches in the contiguous United States. Pensacola, Navarre, Destin, and Seaside are a few good examples.

[RonaldKragnes]

Nice video. One thing not mentioned is that Florida is actually located within two different time zones. Most people don't know that, or find that hard to believe.

[tonysantamaria]

You forgot the main reason for the title of this video. Eglin AFB and range takes up a huge chunck of the panhandle, which prevents roads for the increase in population. By-the-way, the beaches on the panhandle are gorgeous.

[javiermoretti]

Correction: Only extreme southern Florida (south of Lake Okeechobee) is tropical. The northern 2/3 of Florida is humid SUBTROPICAL.

[JoePez]

As someone who grew up in Tallahassee, North Florida is really just South Georgia. I've heard people say that North Florida looks more like central Texas with it's miles open land and tons of trees. Also, when people think of Florida, they think of sunshine, warm weather and beaches, but the closest beach to Tallahassee is a good hour plus drive away, not to mention the fact that it can get well below freezing in the winter months.

[montemasterson]

A lack of long sandy beaches in the Panhandle? What? The Emerald Coast runs from Panama City to Pensacola with the most beautiful white sand beaches and emerald blue/green waters you could hope to see. It's a bit too cold to really enjoy from November through February though. Obviously you haven't been to the Emerald Coast.

[kevinphan]

There are multiple long stretches of sandy beaches in the NW Florida panhandle. The section of the panhandle from the eastern border of Alabama to Port St. Joe in Gulf county is called the “Emerald Coast” exactly because of this. The rest of the coast of the “Big Bend” is certainly marshy but I do not believe that a lack of sandy beaches is a component of the lack of population in NW Florida. I think something missing is the effect of rail on East/South Florida - Flager’s railway allowed those regions to be more widely developed decades before the panhandle.

[alfye]

We're ok with spreading this information. Thanks!

[JDHood]

As a former north-central FL resident, unless you are on the coast, there is no breeze during the hottest months. All you get is angry-oven-heat, swim-thru-the-air-humidity, skeeters and stagnant air. God forbid you lived in a paper mill town -- the stink just lingered. It was said you could fart on Monday and still smell it the next Monday.

[XxTheMoBSteRxX]

Just got back from St. Augustine. I vacation every year there. Lower amount of tourists and cool spanish forts made out of small pieces of seashell. I think the Queen of Spain visits from time to time. Very cool place