Demographers expect Florida’s population to continue growing steadily over the next eight years. A population-estimating committee says the state is on track to soon be the country’s third-most populous.
State demographers are now even more confident Florida’s population will soon trail only California and Texas, most likely by the end of 2016. Office of Demographic and Economic Research spokeswoman Amy Baker said most new Floridians will be baby boomers and recent retirees – and that’s good news for the economy.
“As they settle in, they’re going to be buying things. You know, new home, new construction, outfitting the home, you know, things that really contribute to the state revenues," she said.
And Baker said because people in that age range typically don’t have young children, they won’t be drawing on public services like schools. The state is expected to add a number of residents equal to the population of Orlando every year until 2020.