According to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida had four of the top five fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation from 2022 to 2023, with The Villages retirement community leading the way.
The population in the area that includes The Villages and Wildwood increased by 4.7 percent from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023.
Lakeland and Winter Haven metro areas had the second-fastest growth rate in the country, at 3.8 percent.
Read: 20 Historic Towns In Florida: Explore the Sunshine State’s Rich Heritage
According to the census data, the Ocala area grew the fourth-highest at 3.4 percent, and the Port St. Lucie area grew the fifth-highest at 3.1 percent. The only area outside of Florida in the top five was the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area, which grew 3.7 percent.
“The population growth in Florida’s metro areas underscores a larger trend of widespread population growth across the South, the nation’s fastest-growing region and site of all of the top 10 fastest-growing U.S. metro areas from 2022 to 2023,” the U.S. Census Bureau said in announcing the data. “The growth continued a pattern already clear the previous year when eight of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas were in the South.”
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