Florida has grown by over 8 million people since 1960, and during that period the purchasing power of the average Floridian has risen from well below the national average to equal to it. Retailers have flocked to Florida to meet the rapidly growing demand for goods. Florida retailers like those in other states have tended to locate in malls. Malls are concentrated in high population areas where buying power is greatest: the southeastern counties, the Tampa Bay area, Orlando, and Jacksonville. In Dade and Broward counties are several regional malls that rank among the largest in floor space in the nation. In northwest Florida, large regional malls are found only in Panama City, Pensacola, and Tallahassee.
