After decades of rapid population increase, Florida now is the nation’s fastest-growing state for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 population estimates released today.

Florida's population increased by 1.9% to 22,244,823 between 2021 and 2022, surpassing Idaho, the previous year’s fastest-growing state.

In the post-World War II era after 1946, Florida's percentage increase in population each year has fluctuated but has always been positive (Figure 1).

In the 1950s, as air conditioning became more prevalent in warmer parts of the United States, Florida's annual population growth averaged 6.1% (Table 1). It hit 8% in both 1956 and 1957, near the peak of the baby boom, marking the last time Florida was the fastest-growing state — until now.

During that decade, Florida’s growth far outpaced the national rate, which was between 1.5% and 2% each year that decade. An annual population growth of 8% is exceptionally rapid and translates to a population doubling roughly every nine years. 

The baby boom (1946-64) came to an end in the 1960s and Florida’s extraordinary growth during the 1950s slowed. However, “slowed” is a bit of a misnomer since, between 1960 and 1989, Florida’s average annual growth remained over 3.0%. Generally, The Sunshine State’s population grew at a rate about double the national average.