This Southern state shatters records with all-time population high — 350K new residents yearly

Move over, California and Texas — there’s a new heavyweight in town.

Florida’s population has officially crossed the 23 million mark — an all-time high — thanks to a massive influx of new residents flocking to the Sunshine State from other parts of the US and abroad.

As of April 1, Florida boasts 23,002,597 residents, according to the latest estimates from the state Demographic Estimating Conference, as reported by the Sun Sentinel . This milestone makes Florida the third most populous state in the nation, trailing only California’s 39.5 million and Texas’ 30.5 million.

The surge is nothing new — Florida has been adding between 350,000 to 375,000 people each year for more than a decade, with nearly 359,000 newcomers last year alone. However, the growth rate is expected to peak this year at 1.6% before slowing down in the coming years, as the baby boomer generation ages out of the workforce.

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Interestingly, Florida’s population boom is entirely driven by migration. Since just before the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, deaths have outpaced births in the state, a trend that is expected to continue. Almost 10% of Florida’s residents are 75 and older, second only to Puerto Rico among US states and territories.

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Other Republican southern states have seen similar growth spurts, while liberal northern states like New York experienced declines. The country’s population grew by 1.6 million over the past year, with 87% of that increase concentrated in Texas, Florida and South Carolina, according to new Census Bureau data.

Texas led the nation in population growth between July 2022 and July 2023, adding nearly half a million new residents amid the ongoing migrant crisis at the border. Following closely behind were Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, all benefiting from outmigration from other states.

“The growth in 2023 can largely be attributed to the region’s migration patterns,” the report explained, noting that 706,266 people were added via net domestic migration, while net international migration contributed almost 500,000 to the total.

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States like New York, California and Illinois saw their populations shrink as residents fled high taxes and the soaring cost of living. California lost 338,371 residents to other states, New York shed 216,778, and Illinois saw 83,839 leave. While these losses have been offset by new migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, the overall populations of these states still declined due to the exodus.

The South, however, is now facing a potential housing market crisis . The post-2020 rush to build new homes in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas has led to a glut in supply.

Homebuilders went into overdrive during the pandemic, meeting the demand from Americans seeking cheaper living and remote work opportunities. This has created a potential bubble that could spell trouble ahead.

But unlike the 2008 financial crisis, today’s homeowners have substantial equity in their properties, particularly in the South. “Historically, Florida has a high share of homeowners that own their home outright,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in that previous report.

“There’s a lot more equity in housing right now, which makes it less likely we’ll see the kind of price declines that led to trouble in the mid-2000s.”

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