Florida Demographics: The Statewide Population Guides

The Florida demographics section holds two statewide guides: Florida population by the numbers, on how many people live in the state and how fast that is changing, and the Florida aging population and retirees guide, on the residents 65 and older.

Florida population by the numbers follows the head count: the latest Census Bureau and state estimates, growth by year, where new residents come from, the most populous counties and the state forecast to 2036. The Florida aging population and retirees guide looks at one age group in depth: how many older Floridians there are, which counties are oldest, how they live and where they get help from the state.

Florida population numbers come in several official versions that do not match, and this hub keeps them apart. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates describe July 1, 2025. The Florida Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) estimates April 1 of each year. American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year figures describe who lives in Florida as an average over five years, and the 2020 Census is the last full count. Each figure below names its source and date.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the U.S. Census Bureau website and the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research website.

Two official series answer this for different dates: the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 series shows Florida had 23,462,518 residents on July 1, 2025, third among the states (U.S. Census Bureau).

The state series is newer. Florida's Demographic Estimating Conference, in its June 2026 summary published by EDR, put the April 1, 2026 population at 23,708,635, up 329,374 from April 1, 2025 (Florida EDR, Demographic Estimating Conference). Those April 1 figures are what the Legislature's office annually provides to the Executive Office of the Governor for local governmental units (Florida EDR, Population and Demographics). Even the 2020 starting points differ slightly: the EDR table opens at 21,538,187 for April 1, 2020, against a Census Bureau estimates base of 21,538,207 (Florida EDR; U.S. Census Bureau).

Head counts also set political weight. Florida picked up one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 2020 Census, as did four other states (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 apportionment). The Florida population by the numbers guide sets the state and federal estimates side by side year by year.

Florida is still growing but more slowly: it added 196,680 residents from July 2024 to July 2025, second only to Texas, while its net domestic migration fell to 22,517 (U.S. Census Bureau).

The Census Bureau calls the domestic drop sharp. Florida's net domestic migration was 310,892 in 2022 and 183,646 in 2023 before falling to 22,517 in 2025, when Florida ranked 8th among the states and neighboring Alabama, at 23,358, had higher net domestic migration (U.S. Census Bureau). Florida led every state in net international migration from July 2024 to June 2025, at 178,674 (U.S. Census Bureau).

Natural change does not add to the total: deaths have exceeded births in Florida every year since the state's 2020-21 fiscal year, so all of Florida's population growth comes from net migration, and in June 2026 the conference lowered its April 2026 estimate for net domestic migration (Florida EDR).

Florida's median age is 42.6 years in the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, and 4,781,978 Floridians, 21.3 percent of the state, are 65 or older (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 DP05).

Age varies more across Florida counties than the state average suggests. In the same ACS 2020-2024 5-year table, 57.7 percent of Sumter County residents are 65 or older, the highest share in Florida, and the county's median age is 68.5 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 DP05 by county). At the other end, Leon County has the lowest median age at 32.0 and Alachua County the next lowest at 32.3 (ACS DP05 by county).

After Sumter, the ACS 2020-2024 5-year table shows Charlotte County at 40.5 percent of residents 65 or older, Sarasota County at 37.5 percent and Citrus County at 36.5 percent (ACS DP05 by county). At the young end of the age range, 19.5 percent of all Floridians are under 18 in the same release (ACS DP05), a smaller share than the 21.3 percent who are 65 or older.

The older population will keep growing. EDR expects the end of the decade to be an inflection point as the final baby boomer cohorts enter retirement (Florida EDR). The Florida aging population and retirees guide covers the 65 and older population county by county, with the state help lines and the senior property tax exemptions.

About 27.4 percent of Floridians are Hispanic or Latino and 21.9 percent were born outside the United States, in the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (ACS DP05; ACS DP02).

That is 6,146,161 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (ACS DP05) and 4,905,727 foreign-born Floridians (ACS DP02). Among Floridians 5 and older, 30.6 percent speak a language other than English at home, in the same ACS 2020-2024 5-year release (ACS DP02).

Miami-Dade County is the largest county in Florida and the seventh largest in the nation, with 2,802,029 residents on July 1, 2025, yet it lost 10,115 people over the prior year (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 county estimates). Pinellas County had the second largest numeric decline of any U.S. county, falling 11,834 to 948,563 (U.S. Census Bureau). The Census Bureau notes that many of the fastest growing counties were in states along the southeast coast, Florida among them (U.S. Census Bureau).

In the ACS 2020-2024 5-year table, the next largest Florida counties after Miami-Dade are Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Orange, and Duval County passes one million residents at 1,023,153 (ACS DP05 by county). The Florida population by the numbers guide lists the county order and the long Florida growth record since 1950.

A practical caution on Florida county figures: the ACS 2020-2024 5-year total for Florida is 22,416,077 (ACS DP05), below the Vintage 2025 estimate of 23,462,518, since the survey covers 2020 through 2024. The ACS describes who lives in Florida as a five-year average, while the yearly Census estimates and EDR's April 1 figures give a single-date head count.

The Florida Demographic Estimating Conference forecasts 24,865,263 residents on April 1, 2030 and 26,194,402 on April 1, 2036, with yearly growth dropping below 1 percent in 2032 (Florida EDR).

From April 2026 to April 2030 the conference expects an average of 297,200 net new Floridians a year, or 814 a day, which it compares to adding a city larger than St. Petersburg but smaller than Orlando every year (Florida EDR).

The June 22, 2026 forecast is lower than the one before it. The conference cut its net domestic migration estimate and carried the cut through every later year, so the 2030 figure sits 43,765 below the prior forecast and the 2036 figure 79,137 below (Florida EDR). Older Florida plans and articles that quote the December 2025 forecast will show higher numbers.

Two Florida demographics guides sit under this hub: Florida population by the numbers for the head count and growth, and the Florida aging population and retirees guide for residents 65 and older.

Readers comparing Florida with other states, or tracking whether growth is slowing, should start with Florida population by the numbers. Readers planning for a parent, a retirement or a senior service in Florida should start with the Florida aging population and retirees guide.