ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s population crossed the 23 million residents mark for the first time this year because of the influx of people moving from other states, according to state demographic estimates.
As of April 1 of this year, Florida had 23,002,597 residents, according to estimates released earlier this month by the state Demographic Estimating Conference.
Florida is the third most populous state in the U.S., trailing only California’s 39.5 million residents and Texas’ 30.5 million inhabitants.
Florida added almost 359,000 people last year and has been adding about 350,000 to 375,000 people each year this decade, according to the estimates.
The population growth is expected to peak this year and get smaller with each following year for the rest of the 2020s as the final cohort of baby boomers entering retirement gets smaller, according to the estimates.
By the early 2030s, Florida’s growth rate will be under 1% after…