Four of the nation’s 10 largest metro areas with the fastest population growth over the past year were in Florida — more than any other state, according to new U.S. Census data.
Punta Gorda, The Villages, Lakeland-Winter Have and Cape Coral-Fort Myers all saw increases of more than 3 percent, the figures show.
In addition, two counties in Florida qualified for the top 10 list by percent population growth.
St. John’s County grew 5.6 percent, according to the data, while Nassau County grew 3.5 percent.
Two Florida counties made the top 10 list for numerical population increases. Both Polk and Lee County added more than 20,000 residents in 2021.
Eight of the top 10 counties with the largest numerical population declines were in either New York or California, according to census data.
Miami-Dade County — which lost 38,990 residents in 2021 — was the only Florida entry on that list.
Los Angeles County lost the most residents at 184,000, while New York County lost about 117,000, figures released last week show.
Statewide, Florida’s population increased by 211,000 between July 2020 and July 2021, according to the census report — second only to Texas.
California, Illinois, and New York all saw the sharpest population losses last year.
The US Census this month also found that the Sunshine State filed more new business applications than any other state.
Of the 5.8 million applications filed between January last year and January 2022, 638,680 were looking for a home in Florida — or 11.7 percent.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/28/new-census-data-shows-population-is-booming-in-florida/ New census data shows Florida population is booming