Nicknamed “The Sunshine State”, Florida shipped US$72.2 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2024. That dollar amount reflects a 29.4% increase from $55.8 billion 4 years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the overall value of Floridian exports recorded a 4.7% advance compared to $68.9 billion during 2023.

Florida mostly occupies a peninsula in the southeastern-most region of the continental United States separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Florida ranks sixth among America’s top 10 biggest exporters by state behind front-runners Texas, California, New York state, Louisiana and Illinois. The value of Florida’s exports equals 3.5% of the overall value for the United States’ exports for 2024 (amounting to US$2.065 trillion), exceeding the 3.4% one year prior.

Florida’s exported products represent 4.2% of the Sunshine State’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2023 ($1.706 trillion).

Given Florida’s population of 23.4 million people at July 2024, its total $72.2 billion in 2024 exports translates to $3,100 for every resident in the Sunshine State. That dollar metric surpasses the average $3,050 per capita one year earlier in 2023.

Florida’s unemployment rate was 3.4% in December 2024, up from the 3.2% jobless rate for December 2023.

Florida’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Florida global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Florida.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

1. Civilian aircraft including engines, parts: US$10 billion (13.8% of Florida’s total exports)
2. Smartphones: $2.9 billion (4%)
3. Medications for retail sale: $2.3 billion (3.2%)
4. Electronic integrated circuits, microassemblies: $1.5 billion (2.1%)
5. Medium-size cars: $1.3 billion (1.8%)
6. Small portable computers: $1.2 billion (1.6%)
7. Voice, image and data machines: $1.1 billion (1.5%)
8. Miscellaneous cell phones: $1 billion (1.4%)
9. Unwrought gold: $921.9 million (1.3%)
10. Gas turbine parts: $849.1 million (1.2%)

Florida’s top 10 export product categories approached two-thirds (32%) of the overall value of the Sunshine State’s global shipments.

Year over year, the fastest sales gainers among Florida’s top 10 export categories were medications packaged for retail sale (up 36.7% from 2023), unwrought gold (up 32.9%) then medium-size cars with piston engines (up 20.4%).

The sole decliner among the listed product categories were Florida’s exports of voice, image and data processing machines pulled down by a -13.2% drop from 2023.

More Key Facts about Florida

Overall, Florida incurred a -US$45 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2024. That dollar amount results from a 3.3% year-over-year expansion from -$43.6 billion in red ink for 2023.

Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Below are Florida’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on imported foreign-made goods in 2024.

1. Medium-size cars: $4.5 billion (3.9% of Florida’s total imports)
2. Smartphones: $4.1 billion (3.5%)
3. Larger aircraft: $3.4 billion (2.9%)
4. Nucleic acids, salts: $3.2 billion (2.7%)
5. Larger cars: $2.2 billion (1.9%)
6. Gold (unwrought): $2.1 billion (1.8%)
7. Fresh or chilled salmon fillets: $1.8 billion (1.5%)
8. Electronic integrated circuits, microassemblies: $1.7 billion (1.4%)
9. Hybrid vehicles with spark ignition and electric motors: $1.5 billion (1.3%)
10. Medium-size aircraft: $1.4 billion (1.2%)

Historically, Florida has incurred negative net exports in the international trade of automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate Florida’s competitive disadvantages under the automobiles-related product category showing the strong impact of foreign-made automotive goods on Florida’s global balance sheet}

Florida’s Top Trading Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 46.4% worth of the total value of products exported from Florida during 2024.

1. Brazil: $6.1 billion (8.4% of Florida’s total exports)
2. Canada: $5.3 billion (7.3%)
3. Mexico: $4.5 billion (6.2%)
4. United Kingdom: $3.8 billion (5.3%)
5. United Arab Emirates: $2.48 billion (3.4%)
6. Colombia: $2.46 billion (3.4%)
7. Dominican Republic: $2.4 billion (3.3%)
8. Germany: $2.37 billion (3.3%)
9. Chile: $2.1 billion (3%)
10. Paraguay: $2 billion (2.8%)

Florida’s top trade partners in South America (Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay) accounted for 17.5% of the overall value of exported goods from the Sunshine State. This compares with 13.6% of Floridian shipments consumed by its fellow North American trade partners, Canada and Mexico.

Florida Export Companies

Thirty-five of Florida-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.

• B/E Aerospace (aircraft-related products)
• Citrix Systems (software, cloud computing technologies)
• Dycom Industries (telecommunications)
• Harris Corp (communication, electronic, space, intelligence systems)
• MasTec (pipelines, wireless communications, infrastructure)
• Platform Specialty Products Corp (chemicals)
• Roper Technologies (systems, controls, instruments)
• Ryder (transportation/supply chain management goods)
• Tupperware Brands Corp (household goods, cosmetics, personal care)
• Watsco (air conditioning, heating, refrigeration-related goods)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
 

Florida’s capital is Tallahassee, a city nicknamed “Tally”.

See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Exports and Top United States Trade Balances

Research Sources:
ABC Action News, Florida News Florida’s population soars to over 23.3 million in 2024: Census Bureau. Accessed on April 4, 2025

FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on April 4, 2025

Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 4, 2025

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2017 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on April 4, 2025

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 4, 2025

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 4, 2025

United States Census Bureau, U. S. Exports of Goods by State, Based on Origin of Movement, by NAICS-Based Product. Accessed on April 4, 2025

USA FACTS, Gross domestic product (GDP) state – Florida. Accessed on April 4, 2025

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on April 4, 2025

Wikipedia, Florida. Accessed on April 4, 2025

Wikipedia, List of Florida Companies. Accessed on April 4, 2025

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on April 4, 2025

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on April 4, 2025