Floridian cities, particularly in the central part of the state, have experienced some of the greatest population surges over the past five years, even amid challenges related to soaring home prices stemming from the pandemic.
Wildwood, Florida, is the U.S. region that has grown the most — by 19.2 percent — from 2020 to 2024, which captures the Covid pandemic era, according to The Real Deal‘s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. TRD Data dove into recent growth trends in high population density areas.
Six of the top 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with the greatest spike in residents over the past five years are in Florida, whose population is on track to hit nearly 34 million by 2070. Lakeland-Winter Haven (17.6 percent), Ocala (14.1 percent), Port St. Lucie (14.1 percent), Punta Gorda (13.5 percent) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers (13.2 percent) all made the cut.
All of the top 10 are in the South, save for St. George, Utah.
Despite its spot at the top of the ranking, Wildwood’s growth is slowing, and its 2024 population of about 155,000 residents places it 285th among the country’s MSAs. From 2023 to 2024, its population grew by 1.7 percent.
The MSA with the top yearly growth was Ocala, whose population climbed by 4 percent from 2023 to 2024 to about 429,000 residents.
Meanwhile, Louisiana MSAs took the top slots for the greatest population declines from 2020 to 2024: Lake Charles, by -4.6 percent, and New Orleans-Metairie, by -4.1 percent.
The New York City metro area, the largest in the country with a population of about 19.9 million in 2024, saw its population grow by 1.1 percent year over year — compounding decades-long growth that has put a strain on housing in the region. However, the region’s population ticked down by 0.7 percent during the pandemic.
The Los Angeles MSA, the second-largest in the country with a population of about 12.9 million, also has experienced a population drop of about 2.1 percent over the past five years. Californians in general have increasingly been migrating to places like Texas and Arizona and newcomers moving to the state have reached historic lows. Still, Los Angeles’ year-over-year population change was 0.3 percent.
Subscribe to TRD Data to see this content!