Florida Is Now Officially the Third Most Populous State

Out of our way, New York. We’re number three now.

Yes, Florida has now officially been deemed the third largest state in the union by population according to the US Census Bureau. Current official calculations have Florida’s population at 19.9 million as of this past July, while New York’s was 19.7 million.

While lingering effects of the recession still remain in Florida, that hasn’t stopped people from moving here. Between July 2013 and July 2014, an average of 803 new Floridians were added to the state total each day either through birth or immigration.

Florida’s population grew by approximately 293,000 people over that period. In contrast, New York added just 51,000 new people.

Florida and New York’s population has been neck-and-neck for sometime. For examples, both states are currently represented in the House by 27 congressman. Florida’s overtaking of New York has long been expected. Senator Bill Nelson claimed that Florida had become the third biggest state only behind Texas and California all the way back in April. Though, at the time official census estimates had not yet confirmed that. Now it is official.

It’s a bit of surprising turnaround for population growth for the state.

Back in 2009, the state’s population actually shrank for the first time in 60 years, but things soon turned around. In 2011, Florida’s population topped 19 million for the first time.

It’s only a matter of time until we break 20 million, and some expect Florida to have 25 million residents by 2035. Though, we still have a long way to go before we overtake second place Texas, which currently has 27 million residents. California is of course far and away the most populous state with 38.8 million residents.

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