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You'd think with all the condo towers popping up that Miami was undergoing some sort of population boom. Of course, we all know that the real story is more speculation than population influx, but that doesn't mean that Miami isn't still growing to some degree. According to numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau today, Miami-Dade County gained a net total of 21,000 new residents between 2013 and 2014.
South Florida was the fastest growing metro area in the state, but the other two counties added more residents than Miami-Dade. The Census found that 24,000 more people now call Broward County home (bless them), while there are 22,000 more residents of Palm Beach. In total, the tri-county area added 66,000 new people.
So in total, it's now estimated that Miami-Dade has a population of around 2,638,000 people.
Of course, this was the year that Florida officially became the third most populous state in the nation, overtaking New York.
The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area gained about 50,000, while the Tampa-St. Pete area is estimated to have a net population growth of 41,000.
Florida is also home to some of the fastest growing metro areas in the nation. The Villages, the sprawling, planned community in the center of the state meant for active retirees, is the second fastest growing area in the entire nation, with population growing by 5.4 percent in 2014. Six of the top 20 fasting growing areas in the country were in Florida, so the Census decided to make a handy chart about it.
"Florida's ascension, revealed when the 2014 state population estimates were released last December, was a significant demographic milestone for our country," Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson said in a statement. "These county and metro area estimates provide a more detailed picture of how this happened, showing growth in areas such as central and southern Florida."
So where are all these new people coming from? Well, statewide the answer isn't necessarily from wombs. The Bureau also points out that in half the counties in Florida, deaths outnumber births. Migration from other states has more to do with the growth than Floridians reproducing.