Palm Beach County is a county in Florida's southeastern region, bordering Broward and Miami-Dade counties to the north. The county has a population of 1,496,770 people, according to the most recent census, making it Florida's third most populated and the nation's 25th most populous. West Palm Beach is the county seat and the county's major city. Palm Beach County was formed in 1909 from the remnants of Dade County and named after one of the county's first communities. The current borders of the county were drawn up in 1963.
South Florida's Miami-Dade County includes Palm Beach County. The Miami-Dade metro region had a population of 6,198,782 persons in 2018.
Since the late 19th century, when West Palm Beach was incorporated and Henry Flagler constructed the Florida East Coast Railway and erected the Royal Poinciana Hotel, The Breakers, and Whitehall, the area's population has steadily increased. The Okeechobee storm devastated Palm Beach County in 1928, killing thousands of people. During the 2000 presidential election, a contentious recount in the county drew global attention.
With a personal income per capita of $44,518 in 2004, Palm Beach County was Florida's richest county. Agriculture is Palm Beach County's second-largest sector, behind real estate development, and it tops the state in agricultural production. Tropical agriculture, particularly nurseries, truck crops (vegetables), and sugar cane, are big business in Palm Beach County's underdeveloped (central and western) regions. The "Winter Vegetable Capital" of the United States is Palm Beach County, Florida.