Florida's population crossed the 23 million residents mark for the first time this year because of the influx of people moving from other states, according to state demographic estimates.
As of April 1 of this year, Florida had 23,002,597 residents, according to estimates released earlier this month by the state Demographic Estimating Conference.
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.
Florida added almost 359,000 people last year and has been adding about 350,000 to 375,000 people each year this decade, according to the estimates.
The population growth is expected to peak this year and get smaller with each following year for the rest of the 2020s as the final cohort of baby boomers entering retirement gets smaller, according to the estimates.
By the early 2030s, Florida's growth rate will be under 1% after hitting an expected 1.6% this year.
Since a little bit before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, all of Florida's growth has come from people moving to the Sunshine State from other parts of the United States or abroad. Deaths have outpaced births in Florida since late 2019 and early 2020, and that trend is predicted to continue well into the next decade.
Almost 10% of Florida's residents are age 75 and older, second only to Puerto Rico among U.S. states and the territory.
Brides, families fighting for refunds after event venue closes suddenly
“We’ve struggled so hard to scrape the money to be able to do this for her,” Irizarry said. “She’s my only girl and I wanted this so much for her.”
Couples and families who had weddings and events planned at a well-known venue that abruptly closed claim they’re out thousands of dollars and aren’t being given refunds. Annette Irizarry was supposed to hold her 15-year-old daughter’s quinceañera in August at the Clearwater location and said she’s now out the $6,160 she paid. Without that money, Irizarry said she can’t afford to have her daughter’s celebration somewhere else.
