Growing faster than any other state, Florida topped 23.3 million people this year, according to estimated population data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau estimated that Florida had 23,372,215 people as of July 1, up from 22,904,868 a year earlier. Its 2 percent growth rate surpassed any other state and trailed only the District of Columbia, which had a 2.2 percent rate. Texas and Utah each had 1.8 percent growth rates.
Florida’s increase of 467,347 people was second only to Texas, which gained 562,941.
The estimated national population increased 1 percent to 340.11 million.
The Orlando Sentinel reports Florida’s growth reflected two key trends in the Census Bureau data: international migration and population increases across the South.
A news release accompanying the data said net international migration “was the critical demographic component of change driving growth in the (U.S.) resident population. With a net increase of 2.8 million people, it accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million increase in population between 2023 and 2024.”
The news release also said the South added more people from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, than all other regions combined. The overall population in the South increased by nearly 1.8 million people.
“The South was the only region with positive net domestic migration, where the number of people entering the region exceeded those leaving,” according to the Census Bureau’s press release. “Natural increase also contributed 218,567 to the growing region.”
Natural increase is a measure comparing births and deaths. While Florida saw large overall population growth, it was one of 17 states that had more deaths than births, with a 7,321 “natural decrease,” the Census Bureau said.
The new Census Bureau data showed Florida solidly in third place behind California and Texas in overall population. Florida is followed by New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan.
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