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How Do California & Florida Compare (State Rivalry)
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May 14, 2025
▶ Support me on Patreon & get exclusive / ahead of time content! https://www.patreon.com/generalknowledge ▶ A special thank you to my Patrons: Señor Valasco, Yasin Chaykh, Stuart Tunstead, Chaim laser, Robinhio84, Rogaine Ablar, The Wanton Dogfish, Yeti, Elizabeth Per, Juan Rodriguez Forero, Lastmatix, Kalvin Saccal, Ahmed Alkooheji, Steve the Goat, KR, Ryan Keith, Ryan McMurry, Richard Hartzell. ▶In this video, I compare the US States of Florida and California. Going into various aspects, including flags, territory, geography, weather, coastline, population, politics, demographics, religion, education, wages, economy, taxes, infrastructure, HDI, and safety. California, the larger and more populous of the two, leans liberal in politics, while Florida has a mix of ideologies. Demographically, California is more diverse, and both states differ in religious affiliations. California has a higher GDP and bigger wages, but Florida has lower taxes. Overall, the comparison reveals similarities and differences between the two states. ▶ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:44 State Flags 01:38 Territory & Size 02:18 Geography & Weather 03:09 Coastlines 03:38 Population 03:52 Population Density 04:11 Seats In Congress 04:16 State & National Politics 05:19 Life Expectancy & Average Age 05:32 Ethnic Groups 06:33 Religious Groups 06:59 Education
View Video Transcript
0:00
A few months ago, already back in 2023, there was a bizarre debate between the governors of
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California and Florida. The results and political meaning of it aren't a topic here, but I think
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the debate does symbolize one thing, a sort of friendly rivalry between these two states of the
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US. Because they do have a lot of similarities, and at the same time, a lot of polar opposite
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differences. To start, one is on the west coast, and one is on the east coast, both on coasts
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but opposite ones. I think that's a symbolic comparison for the other things we will look
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at here. So let's jump into it and compare the two states of California and Florida
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First, the flags. Luckily, California and Florida are two states with actual flags of their own
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They didn't just stamp their state seal on a blue field and call it a day, although Florida's isn't
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that far off when you look at it attentively. The bear flag is the official flag of California
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depicting precisely a brown bear with a red star and a red stripe atop a white field in the
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background. The words California Republic are written on it, reminiscent of the time when they
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were ruled by Spain and in Mexico, but desired to break away and become a republic of their own
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The flag of Florida consists of a red saltire on a white background with a state seal superimposed
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in the center. The red saltire is, I believe, the cross of Burgundy used in Spain's flag during
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colonial times, given that Florida was initially a Spanish colony. Their flag's history point to a
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common background of being territories that, after native rule, were initially Spanish colonies
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before becoming a part of the US. Next, a territorial comparison. Like we mentioned
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they are located on opposite sides of the country, on the west and east coasts. California is the
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country's third largest state at around 423,000 square kilometers. While Florida is 170,000 square
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kilometers, California is therefore more than twice the size of Florida, which is only 40
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of California's size. California borders the states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona, as well
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as the country of Mexico, while Florida borders only the states of Georgia and Alabama, being a
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peninsula. It is, however, very close to the Caribbean islands, and its territorial waters
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border those of the Bahamas and Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico isn't that far
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away either. Their geography is also interesting to compare. California is one of the country's most geographically diverse states, with different types of
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terrain around it, one of the reasons it was chosen as the movie producing state, since
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so many sceneries are easily reachable. Within its boundaries are cliffs, beaches, volcanic lava beds, river valleys, waterfalls
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mountains, including Sierra Nevada, and deserts. Oddly, Florida isn't that different, it's home to over 40 terrestrial ecosystems that
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range from small subtropical islands to rocklands, dry prairies, as well as swamps, lakes and
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the Everglades When it comes to weather California diverse climates range from Mediterranean along the coast to arid in the interior and alpine in the mountainous areas while Florida tropical climate is characterized by hot
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humid summers and the risk of hurricanes during the Atlantic hurricane season
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Both states have very large coasts. Florida's is bigger at 2,100 kilometers due to the fact that it is a peninsula
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California's is smaller, but still big at 1,350 kilometers. They are the second and third largest coastline states, respectively
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surpassed only by Alaska. Both states have at least two major ports, San Francisco and Los
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Angeles, and then Miami and Jacksonville. And what about population? California is the most
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populous state in the union at 39 million people. Florida is the third at 22 million. It's pretty
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crazy, California has more population than the whole countries of Australia or Canada. However
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while California's population grew 6% between 2010 and 2020, Florida's grew almost 16%
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The population density of each state is also interesting. Florida seems more evenly distributed
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although it's definitely concentrated on either side of the peninsula. California is less evenly distributed and mostly concentrated along the San Francisco
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and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, with the interior being much more sparsely populated
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Florida has 28 seats in the House of Representatives, while California has 52
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And that is a good transition into the politics of each state. California is known for its liberal political climate, especially in urban areas. It consistently
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votes for democratic candidates in national elections. There are some more conservative
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groups in the state's interior, which has led to some movements for the breakup of the state
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into two, three, or even six new ones. I made a whole video about this, I can link it in the
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description. Florida has a mix of political ideologies. While urban areas tend to be more
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liberal, the state as a whole is considered a battleground in national elections, and in recent
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times it seems to lean more conservative. Florida is a popular destination for retired
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people and statistically older people tend to be more conservative so this might be the
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reason why. Their state Senate shows this, Florida is a Republican majority of 28 vs
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12 Democrats while California's is a Democrat majority of 32 vs 8 Republicans. Their state
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assemblies are the same, California's has a huge Democratic majority of 62 vs 18 while
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Florida's is 83 versus 35, the other way around. But let's circle back to the population and to
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its demographics. The average age in Florida is 42 and the life expectancy is 79. In California
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the average age is younger, 36, and the life expectancy is 81. No single ethnic group forms
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a majority of California's population, making the state a minority-majority state. Hispanics are the
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largest single ethnic group in the state at 39% and Spanish is the state's second most widely spoken language
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Most Californian Hispanics come from Mexico which the state borders to the south
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White Americans are 34 Asian Americans 15 African Americans 5 and mixed ethnicity ones are 4 It interesting how Asian Americans have been a significant part of the state ethnic composition since very early on
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By 1860, they already represented 9 percent of the population. In Florida, 51.5 are white Americans, constituting a majority over all other ethnic groups, 26.5
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are Hispanic, 14.5 are black, 3.7 are mixed, and 3 percent are Asian
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Spanish is also the second most spoken language in the state. A lot of Floridian Hispanics are from Cuba due to the island's proximity and a big
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wave of migration that arrived after the Cuban revolution. When it comes to the religion of these people, here's how they differ
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In Florida, 46% are Protestant, 21% Catholic, 1% Mormon, 1% Jehovah's Witnesses, 3% Jewish
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and 24% without religion. In California, 32% are Protestant, 28% Catholic, 1% Mormon, 1% Orthodox, 1% Jehovah's Witnesses
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2% Jewish, 2% Buddhist, 2% Hindu, and 27% without religion. In 2022, about 22.5% of California's residents aged over 25 held a bachelor degree
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In Florida, the number is pretty much the same at 21.4%. And what about the wages that these people make
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In California the current minimum wage is $16 an hour. In November of 2024 they will vote on whether to increase it to 18%
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The average salary however is much higher at $31.75 an hour or $66,000 per year
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Averages aren't that good of an indicator though because you can have a ton of people making minimum wage and then a few millionaires that skew the statistic to make it look as
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if everyone is making an average amount. But that doesn't seem to be the case and the median wage in California, meaning
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the most common one is at $84,000 per year. In Florida, it's a little lower, the minimum wage
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is $12 an hour and the median wage is $24 an hour or $51,000 a year. However, pay isn't everything
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and a lower pay can be acceptable if the cost of living is also lower. However, this doesn't seem
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to be the case here. In Florida, the average cost of living per year is $50,000, in California it's
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$53,000. Showing us how Floridians may be having a tougher time making ends meet. This may or may
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not, be a reflection of how the state's economies compare. California has a GDP of 3.6 trillion and
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a GDP per capita of 93,000, with an unemployment level of 4.8%. If it were a country, it would be
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the world's fifth biggest economy, just behind Germany and ahead of India. They contribute 15
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to the national US GDP. California's top five sectors are rooted in information, finance
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education, government services and business services. Florida has a GDP of 1.4 trillion, a GDP per capita of 63,000 and unemployment much lower at 2.7%
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If it were a country, it would be the world's 16th largest economy ahead of
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Indonesia and behind Mexico They contribute 5 to the national GDP Their top five sectors are finance insurance real estate rental and leasing When it comes to taxes there are big differences California
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has a graduated state individual income tax with rates ranging from 1% to 13.3%. Florida has no
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individual income tax. California has a 8.84% corporate income tax, while Florida's is almost
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half at 5.5%. Regarding the state sales tax, it's 7.25% in California and 6% in Florida
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The local sales tax rate is a max 2.5% in California and a max 2% in Florida. Overall
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Florida has slightly lower taxes with an emphasis on corporate income tax and a huge difference on
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its absence of individual income tax. And what about infrastructure which those taxes pay for
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California has begun building a high-speed rail system to connect San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, but it's still underway
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Florida also had a high-speed rail plan connecting Tampa, Orlando, and Miami, but it was cancelled
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Both states still have railway systems though, neither is that extensive, and falls much behind local needs if public transportation were to replace or reduce car usage
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Regarding the Human Development Index, which is a statistical index of life expectancy
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education, and per capita income indicators, here is how they compare. Florida has a score of 0.91, California has a score of 0.93, the ideal is 1.0, so they
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both do very well. When it comes to safety, the website World Population Review ranks each US state on a
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scale of 1 to 100, 100 being the safest. California's score is 48, not super safe but not super unsafe, ranking number 27
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Florida is lower at 39, for reference the highest value is Vermont at 68 and the lowest
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is Louisiana at 31. Florida is considered the 7th least safe state according to this
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However the violent crime rate is higher in California with 495 crimes per 100,000 people
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Florida's was only of 259, close to half. The justification presented for Florida being less safe overall is that general crime, not
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violent type, is higher in Florida. Whether you agree with this rating is of course debatable, I would argue non-violent crime
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isn't as relevant to individual safety. Florida has a higher rate of people in prison per its population, around 700 per 100,000 people
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California is lower at around 500, but still pretty high for states in a developed country
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So that is how California and Florida compare over a myriad of factors, understanding that
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they are similar in many ways, but also pretty different in others
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Did any of the statistics of this comparison surprise you? In which two states or countries should I compare next
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Let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for watching, subscribe if you want to catch future videos and I will
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see you next time for more general knowledge
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