Census Bureau: Florida was the fastest growing state in 2022

Census data shows that this year, the population in Florida grew by 1.9%. This is the first time it has led growth since 1957.

Published by

José Carlos Rodríguez

26 de diciembre, 2022

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Florida is wrapping up the year with a population of 22,244,823, an increase of 1.9% compared to 2021. Florida replaces Idaho as the state with the largest population increase. According to the Census Bureau's press release, it is the first time Florida has topped this list of 50 states since 1957.

This data might lead one to believe that Florida's ability to offer citizens opportunities for organic population growth, or to attract outsiders, has been limited, but this is not the case.

Not a single year of decline

Population growth in the Sunshine State was very rapid in the 1950s. Although this growth has moderated as the decades have progressed, the truth is that it has always been positive, even in the years in which there has been a decrease in the country as a whole.

From 1950 to 1959, both years included, the average annual growth was 6.1%. In the '60s, '70s, and 80's it exceeded 3%. In the 1990s, the rate fell to 2.2%, and this trend has continued into the 21st century, The population increased at a rate of 1.7% from 2000 to 2009, and 1.4% in the following ten years.

Flipping a century long trend

So far this decade, the three years from 2020 to 2022, growth has averaged 1.2%. However, last year this increase exceeded the average for this century, at 1.9%.

The Census Bureau wonders why Florida hasn't been the country's fastest-growing state in any other year since 1957:

In a word — Nevada. Florida's percentage gains since 1946 have been impressive: its 2022 population is just over 9 times its 1946 population of 2,440,000. But Nevada's increases are even higher. Its 2022 population of 3,177,772 is a stunning 22 times its 1946 population of 143,000. For 36 of the 76 years since 1946, Nevada has held the top spot. Arizona, Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, and Alaska are among the other fastest-growing in the postwar era.

The second-freest state

So what has Florida done to reverse the trend of slowing population growth?

Ron DeSantis has shaken up state politics. DeSantis calls Florida "the freest state," but that's not entirely true, at least according to the Freedom in the 50 States project, which takes into account personal and economic freedoms. New Hampshire ranks number one in the Cato Institute's index. It is an interesting case, because it is where the Free State Project is developed, which is based on the migration of libertarians to that state, to make the laws more compatible with freedom. However, the fact is that Florida is in second place, so the governor is not off track.

One of the characteristics of Ron DeSantis' policy is the fight against the influence of woke ideology in institutions, especially schools. It is not clear how it relates to the population increase, but at least a portion of those who have moved to Florida did so to escape the pervasive and sometimes oppressive nature of the woke ideology in some places.

On the other hand, the governor has turned a state that was "purple" i.e., without a predominance of either party, into what now appears to be a Republican stronghold. According to a study from Bloomberg, the Republican Party has added more than half a million registered voters since 2018 (553,000), when Ron DeSantis became governor: "By Election Day, the GOP had 292,000 more registered voters than Democrats, state data show, flipping a 257,000-vote Democratic advantage in 2018. In essence, the GOP had overturned a historic Democratic advantage."