Miami Beach is geared toward two key business sectors, real estate and tourism. Real estate dominates the economy, followed closely by retailing, construction, food and beverage, healthcare and hotels. This island city is a frequent host to major national and international conventions at its one million square foot Miami Convention Center. Annually, retail sales exceed $1 billion.

Out of a population of just over 87,900, Miami Beach has a labor force of some 46,000, with unemployment at 4%. The city has 1.9 million square feet of office space and has become a center for the entertainment industry. Many major entertainment companies, including Time-Warner, Sony, CBS, MTV and Playboy, maintain offices in Miami Beach, mostly to service their Latin American business interests.

The largest employer is the combined Mount Sinai Medical Center and Miami Heart Institute, with some 3,500 workers. The City of Miami Beach is second with 1,600 and the venerable Fontainbleau Hilton Hotel follows with some 1,200 employees. Other large employers include South Shore Hospital and Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

The median house value is approximately $334,000 while the median household income is only $27,322, reflecting the nature of the year-round residents of Miami Beach, most of whom are wage earners working in tourism, healthcare and retailing, and mostly renting their housing.

Tourism undoubtedly is Miami Beach's most important business segment. Annually, some seven million tourists flock to Miami Beach, generating an estimated $11 billion in economic impact. South Beach and its Art Deco Hotel District is the second-most popular Florida destination after Disneyworld in Orlando. Of the tourists who come to Dade County, nearly 40% end up staying in one of the 20,000 hotel rooms in Miami Beach. There are approximately 120 hotels in South Beach and more than 30 hotels along Ocean Drive. Seasonal residents, those who either own second homes in Miami Beach or regularly lease housing for short stays, total nearly 110,000. And while they are not tracked on a census basis, they undoubtedly contribute a large percentage to the tourism economy of Miami Beach.