Highways, ports and demand: Why Florida is a hotspot for human trafficking

Florida’s location and rapid growth have made it a prime target for human trafficking, according to a new state-commissioned report. The study points to the state’s busy airports, ports and highways, along with a booming economy, as key factors that have kept Florida at high risk over the past two decades.

Florida’s trafficking crisis by the numbers

Florida saw a staggering number of trafficking victims last year, according to the 2024 state report on human trafficking. Researchers estimate more than 500,000 people were forced into labor, while another 200,000 were exploited through sex trafficking. The report also highlighted how young people are becoming especially vulnerable. Minors are believed to make up half of those trafficked for sex, and about a quarter of those are trafficked for labor.

“Human trafficking is considered a hidden crime and its victims are often invisible,” said Joan Reid, executive director of the University of South Florida’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Risk to Resilience Research Lab. 

Many of those at risk are undocumented workers who often face greater danger due to limited legal protections. According to the Florida Policy Institute, nearly 400,000 undocumented people are employed across major sectors like tourism, agriculture and construction, which typically have high rates of labor exploitation.

Tracking the hidden crime: How data is helping

Researchers at the TIP Risk to Resilience Lab pulled data from multiple state sources, including the Department of Children and Families. They then collaborated with more than 30 agencies and organizations to create Florida’s first Statewide Repository for Anonymous Human Trafficking, known as TIPSTR.

Over a 90-day period in 2024, more than 300,000 online ads promoting commercial sex were posted across Florida, a sign of strong demand, which experts said can heighten a community’s risk for human trafficking. In that same year, state data also identified more than 1,200 illicit massage businesses operating in Florida, which are frequently linked to trafficking activity.

Enforcement expands as agencies work together

Efforts to combat human trafficking have ramped up across Florida in recent years. According to the report’s authors, prosecutions are on the rise, and coordination between state agencies, law enforcement and nonprofits has strengthened. Florida also leads the way on policy, enforcing some of the toughest anti-trafficking penalties in the country, which are far above the national average.

Florida took one of its strongest legal steps yet against human trafficking on June 10, 2025, when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1804 into law. The measure creates a new felony offense called “capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation,” the most severe trafficking charge under state law. Adults convicted of profiting from the sexual exploitation of children under 12, or victims who are mentally incapacitated, now face life in prison or the death penalty.

Agencies across Florida have also increased efforts to identify victims and identify offenders. The Department of Juvenile Justice conducted 8,527 screenings, while the Department of Children and Families completed 669. Child Protective Investigations verified 164 victims of child sexual exploitation. On the legal side, there were 146 documented trafficking offenses, 90 arrests and courts filed 41 human trafficking charges statewide.