Jacksonville's location on the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean proved instrumental to the growth of the city and its industry.
Jacksonville has a sizable deepwater port, which helps make it a leading port in the U.S. for automobile imports, as well as the leading transportation and distribution hub in the state.
The strength of the city's economy lies in its broad diversification.
While the area once had many thriving dairies, such as Gustafson's Farm and Skinner Dairy, this aspect of the economy has declined over time.
The area's economy is balanced among distribution, financial services, biomedical technology, consumer goods, information services, manufacturing, insurance, and other industries.

Jacksonville is home to the headquarters of four Fortune 500 companies: CSX Corporation, Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Information Services and Southeastern Grocers.
Interline Brands is based in Jacksonville and is owned by The Home Depot.
Other notable companies based in Jacksonville or with a large presence include Florida Blue, Swisher International Group, BOA Merrill Lynch, Fanatics, Crowley Maritime, Web.com, Firehouse Subs and Deutsche Bank.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville, located SW of downtown, employs more than 25,000 people.

In 2008, Jacksonville had 2.8 million visitors who stayed overnight, spending nearly $1 billion.
A study by Research Data Services of Tampa quantified the importance of tourism.
The total economic impact was $1.6 billion and supported nearly 43,000 jobs, 10% of the local workforce.
Jacksonville's location on the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean proved instrumental to the growth of the city and its industry. Jacksonville has a sizable deepwater port, which helps make it a leading port in the U.S. for automobile imports, as well as the leading transportation and distribution hub in the state. The strength of the city's economy lies in its broad diversification. While the area once had many thriving dairies, such as Gustafson's Farm and Skinner Dairy, this aspect of the economy has declined over time. The area's economy is balanced among distribution, financial services, biomedical technology, consumer goods, information services, manufacturing, insurance, and other industries.
Jacksonville is home to the headquarters of four Fortune 500 companies: CSX Corporation, Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Information Services and Southeastern Grocers. Interline Brands is based in Jacksonville and is owned by The Home Depot. Other notable companies based in Jacksonville or with a large presence include Florida Blue, Swisher International Group, BOA Merrill Lynch, Fanatics, Crowley Maritime, Web.com, Firehouse Subs and Deutsche Bank. Naval Air Station Jacksonville, located SW of downtown, employs more than 25,000 people.
In 2008, Jacksonville had 2.8 million visitors who stayed overnight, spending nearly $1 billion. A study by Research Data Services of Tampa quantified the importance of tourism. The total economic impact was $1.6 billion and supported nearly 43,000 jobs, 10% of the local workforce.
Jacksonville, Florida