Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Fort Lauderdale /ˌfɔərt ˈlɔːdərdeɪl/ (frequently abbreviated as Ft. Lauderdale) is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, 28 miles (45 km) north of Miami. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521.