Black Health Profile
Black health in Florida
3,444,830
Black residents (ACS)
15.70%
Of state population
Florida has about 3.4 million Black residents, the third-largest Black population of any state. Florida has not adopted Medicaid expansion; the state's coverage gap is estimated by KFF to hold over one million adults, about a third of them Black. The University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and AdventHealth Orlando are Florida's largest NCI-designated cancer centers serving Black patients.
Florida has some of the nation's widest Black–white disparities in breast cancer late-stage diagnosis and HIV diagnosis rates — both concentrated in the Miami-Dade and Broward metro areas.
On the positive side, every US state now has CDC-funded maternal mortality review committees, and most have at least one HRSA-designated federally qualified health center serving low-income Black residents. The ten facet pages below point to state-specific programs and providers.
Key takeaways
- Black residents: 3,444,830 (15.7% of the state).
- Medicaid expansion not adopted — lowest-income adults without dependent children have no direct path to coverage.
- Medicaid covers doula services.
- Certified nurse-midwife scope-of-practice recognized by Medicaid.
- 12-month postpartum Medicaid extension active.
Health outcomes & coverage
Ten race-stratified indicators drawn from CDC, Census, KFF, and SAMHSA primary sources. Each page links the underlying dataset, compares to the national average, and frames the state-specific drivers and policy levers.
maternal mortality
Black women in Florida die from pregnancy-related causes at 34.7 per 100,000 live births — 1.8× the US national rate of 19.
Read the maternal mortality breakdown
infant mortality
Black infants in Florida die before age one at 11.2 per 1,000 live births — compared to the US all-race rate of 5.4.
Read the infant mortality breakdown
cardiovascular mortality
Age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality among Black residents of Florida: 341.2 deaths per 100,000 (CDC WONDER, ICD-10 I00-I99).
Read the cardiovascular mortality breakdown
diabetes prevalence
14.8% of Black adults in Florida have been diagnosed with diabetes — compared to the US all-race rate of 11.6%.
Read the diabetes prevalence breakdown
breast cancer mortality
Age-adjusted breast cancer mortality among Black women in Florida: 28 per 100,000 (CDC WONDER, ICD-10 C50).
Read the breast cancer mortality breakdown
prostate cancer mortality
Age-adjusted prostate cancer mortality among Black men in Florida: 39.8 per 100,000 (CDC WONDER, ICD-10 C61).
Read the prostate cancer mortality breakdown
life expectancy
Life expectancy at birth for Black residents of Florida: 73.5 years (US all-race: 77.5).
Read the life expectancy breakdown
uninsured rate
12.2% of Black residents of Florida have no health insurance coverage — vs. a US all-race uninsured rate of 8%.
Read the uninsured rate breakdown
Medicaid coverage
About 30% of Black residents of Florida receive Medicaid coverage. Florida is a Medicaid non-expansion state.
Read the Medicaid coverage breakdown
mental health access
60.5% of Black adults in Florida who experienced a past-year mental health need reported not receiving the treatment they needed (SAMHSA NS…
Read the mental health access breakdown
Policy context in Florida
Florida has not adopted Medicaid expansion. Low-income Black adults without dependent children earning above state Medicaid eligibility thresholds and below the ACA marketplace subsidy threshold fall into the coverage gap — uninsured by default. Medicaid covers doula services in this state. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery, the federal recommended standard.
Florida's Medicaid program (Statewide Medicaid Managed Care) began covering doula services in 2024 as an in lieu of service, making Florida one of the earliest non-expansion states to do so. Postpartum Medicaid was extended to 12 months in 2022.
Find Black health providers & resources in Florida
Counties in Florida
County-level Black Health profiles for the 3 Florida counties with the fullest race-stratified data and editorial coverage.
Data sources & refresh cadence
- US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Table B02001 (race) & S1903 (income).
- CDC WONDER Multiple Cause of Death (D69) & Underlying Cause of Death (D76), 2018–2022 release.
- KFF Medicaid expansion and state coverage trackers, Q1 2026.
- SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2022 state annual.
- HRSA NHSC workforce data, 2024.
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