While Miami Lakes is attractive for nearly all types of economic development, six targeted industry sectors have been identified that match the region’s strengths, goals and assets, as well as provide for a diversified and sustainable regional economy. These targeted sectors were chosen based upon the opportunity for growth, creation of quality jobs above the average wage, role in regional development and their connections to other industries.
Aviation
This industry is propelled by Miami International Airport (MIA), which is the largest entry point to Latin America and the Caribbean in the world, for both passengers and cargo; nourished by area education and training institutions and flight simulation facilities; and sustained by the more than 400 maintenance, overhaul, and parts manufacturing industries that flourish in Miami-Dade County. These numbers are sure to grow as development proceeds at Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
As a State, Florida is the undisputed air traffic hub of the Western Hemisphere for both passengers and cargo, and a major flight training and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) location. Industry leadership is driven and supported by the presence of virtually every major defense contractor, a 50-year legacy of space launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Florida's many U.S. military installations, its incredible air transport infrastructure, and its high-quality workforce.
Life Sciences
Florida is home to some of the nation's most highly regarded research centers, and ranks 2nd in the U.S. for the number of FDA-registered medical device establishments.
Financial/Professional Services
- Accounting
- Architects
- Commercial Real Estate
- Engineers
- Legal Services
For over 25 years, Miami-Dade has been home to the largest concentration of domestic and international banks on the East Coast south of New York City. Banks from North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America have local offices to serve offshore customers with personal or business ties to the region. In the past two years, there’s been rapid growth in institutions serving companies in the Pacific Rim.
This sector is propelled by Miami-Dade County’s access and influence in Latin America and the Caribbean; nourished by the area’s graduate and post-graduate educational institutions; and sustained by the 16, 237 accounting, architectural, real estate, engineering, and legal services firms that grow and flourish in Miami-Dade County.
Nearly 90% of the state’s gross economic output is generated in the service sector. Florida's more than 122,000 Financial and Professional Services companies employ nearly 832,000 workers at locations around the state, and the industry's designation as a "high impact" sector, further signifies its importance to our economy.
Information Technology & Telecommunications
Recent improvements in local university facilities promise to draw still more tech-savvy young people to the area. Miami Dade College’s ETCOTA (Emerging Technology Center of the Americas) is a state-of-the-art technology facility that trains students in computer science, while the College of Engineering at Florida International University has the $15 million Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility, the first centralized facility of its kind in the state of Florida.
International Business
For these global companies, as well as thousands of smaller businesses in the international sector, Miami Lakes’ proximity to Latin America and the Caribbean is a key strategic asset that makes our community the ideal location for international commerce in the Western Hemisphere. The region offers unparalleled access to European and Asian markets through Miami International Airport and the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, a pivotal connecting point between the Americas and the rest of the world and the #1 container port in Florida.
Logistics & Distribution
The Port of Miami is the #1 container port in Florida and among the top ten container ports in the United States, as well as North America’s closest port to the Panama Canal. As the Western Hemisphere's commercial gateway, the logistics and distribution industry is poised to grow further with the Panama Canal expansion in 2014 and the numerous infrastructure developments and upgrades underway around the state.