Miami is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida, and the eighth-most populous county in the United States, with a population of 2,500,625. The 42nd largest city in the United States, with a population of 433,136, it is the principal, central, and most populous city of the South Florida metropolitan area, the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States. According to United Nations estimates, the Miami Urbanized Area was the fifth most populous urbanized area in the U.S. in 2000 with a population of 4,919,036, but in 2008 that number increased to 5,232,342, making it the fourth-largest urbanized area in the United States, behind New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The metropolitan area population is 5,547,051 (July 1, 2009 estimate).

Miami is a major center and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms seventh city in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked thirty-third among global cities.

In 2008, Miami was ranked as "America's Cleanest City" according to Forbes Magazine for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets and city-wide recycling programs. In 2009, UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States and the world's fifth-richest city, in terms of purchasing power.

Downtown Miami and South Florida are home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and is home to many large companies both nationally and internationally.

For well more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the "Cruise Capital of the World" is the number one cruise passenger port in the world accommodating some of the largest cruise ships in the world, and operations and is the busiest in both passenger traffic and cruise lines.