Growth in I-4 corridor, South Florida propelled population

By: Thomas Signorello, August 16, 2015

ORLANDO, Fla. —People moving to the Interstate 4 corridor and South Florida drove the state's population growth to nearly 20 million residents last year, allowing Florida to surpass New York as the nation's third-largest state.

New figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show more than half of the growth in Florida last year came from three metropolitan areas: South Florida, Orlando and Tampa. 

Florida now trails only California and Texas in population.

Metro Orlando increased by about 50,000 new residents, and the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region jumped by 41,000 people.

The Villages, the retirement community northwest of Orlando, was the nation's fastest growing city, increasing by 5.4 percent.

South Florida increased by 66,000 people from July 2013 to July 2014.