Jump Starts in Homestead Florida

Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census. It is located approximately 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Miami, and 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Key Largo.

The city of Homestead is located near the southern terminus of the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike where it ends at its junction with U.S. 1. Homestead is immediately north and east of Florida City, and these two cities comprise the greater Homestead-Florida City area. Some of the notable unincorporated communities in the area are Redland, Leisure City, Naranja, and Princeton.

Homestead was incorporated in 1913 and is the second oldest city in Miami-Dade County next to the city of Miami. The name originates from when the Florida East Coast Railway extension to Key West was being built. The rail line was passing through an area opened up for homesteading, and as the construction camp at the end of the line did not have a particular name, construction materials and supplies for the workers were consigned to “Homestead Country”, shortened to “Homestead” by the engineers who mapped the area. Homestead and neighboring South Miami-Dade County communities bore the brunt of Category 5 Hurricane Andrew on August 24, 1992.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.4 square miles (37 km). 14.3 square miles (37 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km) of it (0.63%) is water.

Source