Jacksonville is the most populous city in the state of Florida and the thirteenth most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Duval County.GR6 Since 1968, the city has shared a consolidated government with the county, making it the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States. In 2006, the city proper had an estimated population of 834,789[1] with a metropolitan population of more than 1.3 million.[2] Jacksonville is the third most populated city on the East Coast, after New York City and Philadelphia. It is the central city of the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state.