Jacksonville Built an Economy Other Cities Can’t Copy

Jacksonville’s economy runs on something most cities lack.Balance.

I examined the city’s industrial foundation and found a structure that defies Florida’s typical economic playbook. While Miami and Orlando lean heavily on tourism and retail, Jacksonville spread its bets across four distinct sectors. The result? An economy that absorbs shocks most metros can’t handle.

The diversification shows up in the numbers. The city targets seven key industries through its Office of Economic Development, but four dominate the employment landscape: logistics, finance, healthcare, and technology.

The Port That Powers Everything

Start with JAXPORT. The seaport’s cargo activity supported 228,100 jobs across Florida in 2024. That same activity generated $44 billion in annual economic output.

The port just doubled its container capacity to roughly 2 million TEUs following a $72 million terminal modernization. That expansion signals something important about Jacksonville’s approach. The city invests in infrastructure that multiplies opportunity rather than betting on single industries.

Logistics and distribution flow naturally from geography. Jacksonville sits at the intersection of major highways and rail lines, with a deep-water port that handles vessels other Florida cities can’t accommodate. But geography alone doesn’t explain the employment concentration.

Finance Sector Concentration

Here’s where Jacksonville diverges from the state pattern. Eleven percent of all workers here are employed in financial and insurance services. That’s more than any other Florida metropolitan area.

The concentration isn’t accidental. Florida Blue, Fidelity Investments, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all maintain significant operations in Jacksonville. Bank of America alone employs 7,700 people across more than a dozen facilities.

What does that concentration mean? High-paying jobs that weather economic downturns better than retail or hospitality. Financial services create demand for professional services, real estate, and technology infrastructure. One sector feeds multiple others.

Healthcare’s Massive Footprint

The healthcare industry employs over 50,000 workers in Jacksonville. Recent private capital investment exceeded $600 million.

Two major health systems anchor the sector. Baptist Health employs more than 15,000 team members. Mayo Clinic Jacksonville employs approximately 6,400 people.

Healthcare employment tends to be recession-resistant. People need medical care regardless of economic conditions. The sector also generates high-skill jobs across multiple education levels, from medical technicians to specialized physicians conducting research.

The combination of Mayo Clinic’s research focus and Baptist Health’s regional reach creates a healthcare cluster that attracts additional medical companies and suppliers. Clusters compound their own advantages.

Technology and Headquarters

Jacksonville houses four Fortune 500 headquarters: CSX Corporation, Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Information Services, and Southeastern Grocers. Headquarters mean more than jobs. They mean capital investment, executive talent, and community engagement that extends beyond payroll.

The technology sector overlaps with finance through fintech expansion. Intercontinental Exchange recently partnered with the city, committing to maintain 1,500 current jobs while adding 500 more. That growth reflects Jacksonville’s emerging position in financial technology.

What Diversification Actually Delivers

The unemployment rate sits at 3% as of 2025. The city adds roughly 103 new residents per day, ranking 15th among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States.

But the growth rate matters less than the growth structure. When one sector contracts, three others continue generating employment. When national economic conditions shift, Jacksonville’s exposure to any single industry remains limited.

I’ve seen metro economies collapse when their primary industry fails. Detroit and automotive manufacturing. Rust Belt cities and steel production. Single-industry dependence creates fragility that no amount of growth can offset.

Jacksonville built the opposite. The city’s economic development strategy deliberately targets multiple sectors rather than betting on one or two. That approach produces slower headline growth during boom times but delivers stability when conditions deteriorate.

The competitive advantage isn’t flashy. It’s structural. Other cities can’t easily replicate a deep-water port, an established financial services cluster, major healthcare systems, and Fortune 500 headquarters. Those assets took decades to develop and billions in cumulative investment.

The lesson applies beyond Jacksonville. Economic resilience comes from intentional diversification across sectors with different risk profiles and growth cycles. Balance isn’t boring when it’s the difference between weathering downturns and watching employment collapse.

Jacksonville’s economy works because it was built to work under multiple conditions. That’s rare enough to be worth studying.