Broward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Broward is the second most populated county in the state. Its county seat is Fort Lauderdale. Broward is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida metropolitan area. Broward County leads the nation with AIDS cases, with 58.4 new AIDS cases per 100,000 people. Broward County has a total area of approximately 1,320 square miles of which 91% is land and 9% water. As of the 2000 census, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in Broward County, FL.