Florida’s population growth is modestly slowing as deaths outpace births and as a rush of people moving from other states during the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Still, with an estimated 22.25 million residents as of April 1, Florida continues to see population increases that are roughly equivalent to adding a city the size of Orlando each year, according to a state report released this week.
The new estimates put the state on pace to annually add about 295,000 net new residents in the next five years, or 808 people a day.
The report by economists revised the state’s growth rate to 1.29% for the period through April 1, down from 1.41% in December.
During the past two years, Florida saw an increase in people moving in from states that maintained lockdown and health-safety measures longer than Florida because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But such gains have been offset by “fewer births and more deaths than previously forecast,” according to Pam Schenker with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
“Based on the data that we have seen now for 2021, the births were lower than what we were expecting back in December, and the deaths are higher than what we were expecting,” Schenker said.
Florida Department of Health figures used by the economists indicated that deaths exceeded births by nearly 45,000 in 2021.
Through June 22 this year, the state had totaled 106,000 deaths and 96,000 births.
Also, the pandemic-driven migration from other states is slowing, according to the forecast.