Cty of Bridges...

The metropolitan area is now the 55th largest in the U.S., and the region has a total population of almost 1.3 million.

Jacksonville has a humid subtropical climate, with mild weather during winters and hot weather during summers. High temperatures average 64 to 91°F (18-33 °C) throughout the year.

The city is a transportation hub, with a 38-foot deep-water port that ranks with New York as the top two vehicle-handling ports in the nation. It is served by four airports, three seaports, a highway system that links the city to three major inter-states, and a rail system served by three railroads—CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Florida East Coast.

Three important naval air stations within the city limits and Kings Bay Submarine Base nearby give Jacksonville one of the largest military presences in the country, topped only by Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego, California. The total economic impact of the bases in the community is about $6.1 billion annually.

The city was experiencing a boom in the aviation industry in the early 2000s. Flightstar Aircraft Services Inc. began operations in Jacksonville in 2000, Kaman Aerospace Corp. launched business there three years later, and Embraer broke ground in 2004 on a facility to accommodate work on a $879 million Army contract to assemble surveillance aircraft.

The Jacksonville Port Authority manages the Free Trade Zone, an area in which goods arriving from a foreign country are temporarily exempt from import duties unless and until they are permanently delivered to the U.S. The city is home to Foreign Trade Zone #64 and there are designated customs facilities at the Jacksonville International Airport.

In April 2006 Jacksonville was recognized as one of the top three U.S. organizations for "Leadership and Innovation" in economic development by CoreNet, the world's premier association for corporate real estate and related professionals.

In the May 2006 issue of Business 2.0, Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 10 "Hottest Cities" that will lead job growth through 2015.

Jacksonville was ranked by Expansion Management as being in the top 15 percent of all U.S. metro areas for fiber optic connectivity.

J.D. Power and Associates rated JEA — the electric, water and sewer authority for Jacksonville — as among the top electric utilities in the South in terms of customer satisfaction.

The NFL selected Jacksonville as the host city for the 2005 Super Bowl.

The Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena, which opened in November 2004. Located in the Sports Complex, this $125 million, state-of-the-art facility is capable of seating up to 16,000 fans for a variety of events, including concerts, ice shows, basketball, hockey and arena football.

The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, which opened with the start of the Jacksonville Suns' 2003 season. The new baseball stadium seats 10,000 people and features a brick exterior, matching historic St. Andrews Church;

The New Main Library, with an innovative children's center, an updated genealogy department and a section dedicated to African-American history opened in December of 2005.

A $1.5 billion investment in ongoing transportation improvements, including road paving, creating sidewalks and bike paths, and land purchasing for future rapid transit expansion;

And $225 million in environmental and economic development initiatives designed to expand neighborhood parks, preserve our urban forests and provide economic development incentives to targeted neighborhoods within the area.

Incentives for new job creation, job development and infrastructure enhancements are based on job type, number of jobs, wages and economic impact.

Jacksonville's central location, with access to road, rail, sea and air transportation, has made it the inter-modal hub of the Southeast. As the city farthest west on the eastern seaboard, Jacksonville has easy access to the Southeastern United States, as well as Latin America, the Caribbean and the rest of North America. Jacksonville’s port operations have grown significantly with the recent addition of container ship service to Asia.

World Trade Center Jacksonville (WTCJ) works with the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Seaport in pursuing investment opportunities to attract international companies interested in locating to Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. It helps the business committee with foreign trade opportunities by offering educational programs, seminars, conferences, trade shows and missions to various countries.

Florida ranked 4th among the 50 states on a Tax Foundation study of business-friendly tax climates in 2006.

In the September 2006 issue of National Geographic Adventure Magazine, Jacksonville was named one of the Top 6 Beach Towns in the United States.

For the second year in a row, Jacksonville was named one of the Top 25 Arts Destinations in the country for 2006 by AmericanStyle Magazine.

Jacksonville was named one of the Top 5 “Up and Coming” Areas of 2006 by Good Morning America.

According to the May 1, 2006 Newsweek cover story “America’s Best High Schools”, Stanton College Prep and Paxon High School were ranked 5th and 28th best high schools in the nation. Six area schools made the list and Duval County was the only school district to have two schools ranked in the Top 30.

In September 2005, America’s Promise, an alliance formed by former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, named Jacksonville “One of the 100 Best Communities in the U.S. for Young People.”

In the February 2005 issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine, Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 20 Fittest Cities in the U.S.

Expansion Management Magazine gave the Clay County School District a “Blue Ribbon”, rating it in the Top 29% of all school districts nationwide, in the 2006 Education Quotient Rankings.