Why Is Florida the Fastest-Growing State in America?

Why Is Florida the Fastest-Growing State in America?

For the first time since 1957, Florida is the state with the fastest population growth in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The southeastern state, which is renowned for its balmy weather and white beaches, now has a population of more than 22 million people according to

Kathy Bonini, 42, who grew up in Pennsylvania but moved to Florida in 2011, adds, “I hate being cold.” Everyone enjoys the sun and palm trees.

The mayor of St. Augustine, a port city in Florida, Nancy Sikes-Kline concurs.

When asked why people move to her state, Sikes-Kline responds, “You know, we call ourselves ‘the sunshine state’ and I think that that makes a big difference.” “In my opinion, the main cause is simply our fantastic weather. the sunlight.

Senior citizens and retired Americans frequently move to Florida. On the other hand, between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2022, more than 700,000 residents of all ages migrated to the state. When the COVID-19 epidemic hit, many remote workers had the freedom to reside anywhere they pleased.

According to economist Sean Snaith, there are additional factors than the weather that make people move to Florida, such as a strong labor market and the absence of a state income tax in Florida, unlike most other states in the union.

Snaith, an economics professor at UCF and the director of UCF’s Institute for Economic Forecasting, says that depending on where people are moving from, that could be an additional 8, 9, or 10% of your pay that you keep instead of having to pay state taxes or other local taxes.

According to an examination of Census data, residents of the United States most frequently relocate to Florida from New York, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California.

Aaron Dan, 36, a resident of Florida who relocated from the West Coast in May 2021 during the pandemic, says it’s “time to kind of get out of California with the wildfires and the high cost of living.” Dan, a real estate professional, believes Florida offers more prospects for business leasing and property development. Lower taxes are certainly available here, so you can get a lot more for your money, he claims. So, I consider both the chance for advancement and the cost of living to be highly alluring.

Nearly two-thirds of Florida residents were non-residents even before the outbreak. One-fifth of those transplants were foreign nationals who relocated.

“From a number of different countries, there has been a significant inflow of immigrants to the state. It’s not just one or two nations, Snaith notes; it’s also Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. “People generally want to immigrate to the United States, and Florida typically attracts a larger share of those immigrants.”

However, a growing population may raise the cost of living in the Sunshine State. According to Zillow, a real estate marketplace business, the price of a property in Florida increased on average by 14% over the previous year, whereas the national average only increased by 8.7%.

Florida is a somewhat inexpensive place to buy a home and live. That’s less true now, according to Snaith. “As a result, it’s tough to live comfortably. And I believe that Florida will continue to struggle with that issue for some years to come.

Florida native Sharon Wooten works as a realtor. She has witnessed the transition of orange groves into home projects over time.

A much has changed. Farmland was lost. I believe it is acceptable as long as we protect our natural resources and limit our rate of growth. And, if we are picky about what enters, I believe. Many of these advances are very, very wonderful, and everything they do is of the highest caliber, according to her. “As long as the growth is healthy, it’s fine. People in this area now have many opportunities that they may not have previously had, you know.

According to Wooten, some people’s daily lives have improved as a result of the increased development.

“My mother and my grandmother have had opportunities to shop, go to plays, eat at restaurants, and other things that they didn’t have before,” the woman claims. Therefore, it has only “opened up a new world to them.”

In terms of the economy, Snaith claims that population expansion is “nothing but good news.”

“Every new family that relocates to Florida needs a place to live, food, clothing, and access to healthcare. If they have children, they also need to send them to school. They require everything that people purchase, according to Snaith. Therefore, population growth is only one side of the story. The other side of that coin is economic expansion. Any regional economy will produce more economic activity the more people there are there.

The third-most populous state in the nation is Florida. Since the 1950s, when air conditioning first became widely used, people have been migrating there, and this trend doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.

I just don’t see any kind of component that would pull us off this trajectory the state has been on, says Snaith, “unless there’s some sort of a dramatic change to, you know, the environment, politically, economically.”