FL Tops 23 Million Residents, Sets Population Record

FLORIDA — For the first time, Florida’s population has topped 23 million, hitting a record high, according to a recent report from the state’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research.

As of April 1, 23,002,597 people call the Sunshine State home and nearly 359,000 residents were added last year, the report said. That’s a 1.62 percent increase over 2023.

Florida is the third most populous state in the U.S., trailing only California’s 39.5 million residents and Texas’ 30.5 million inhabitants.

The Sunshine State’s population increase is largely due to the number of people moving to Florida. The state has seen an increase in growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, as people moved to Florida from other parts of the United States.

In 2024, officials estimate there will be nearly 368,000 new residents added. While this will be the peak through the end of the 2020s, the state’s upward trend in population growth will only continue.

Over the next five years, from April 1, 2024, to April 1, 2028, population growth over the previous year is expected to average about 319,000 new residents each year — that’s 874 people a day.

This is the equivalent of “adding a city slightly smaller than Orlando, but larger than St. Petersburg every year,” the report said.

Even into the next decade, the population will grow. By 2034, Florida is expected to have about 25.7 million residents, data shows.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.