Florida sees 3 cities in top 15 list of largest population growth in U.S.

Jacksonville was ranked worst city in the U.S. to go to for summer vacation.

It’s no secret that Florida is increasing in population every day, and several Sunshine State cities are reflecting the trend with substantial booming populations according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.

Three Florida cities are now in the top 15 U.S. metropolises that gained raw population between July 2022 and July 2023, new census data shows. Two other Florida cities are among the top 15 fastest growing cities in terms of percentage of growth in the country.

Jacksonville, Port St. Lucie and Cape Coral all made the top 15 list of cities that gained the most new residents in that one-year time frame. Jacksonville had an increase of 14,066 residents in that yearly span.

That places Jacksonville fourth among the cities with the largest gain in population. Only San Antonio, Fort Worth, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw bigger gains in population.

That gain in residents pushed Jacksonville’s population to 986,000, making it the eighth-largest city in the country and the only Florida city among the top 15 largest populations in America. To be clear, Jacksonville’s municipal boundaries incorporate the entirety of Duval County, which includes 875 square miles on The First Coast, the largest land mass for any city in the country.

Jacksonville was immediately followed in the largest gain in population list by Port St. Lucie, at fourth in the nation. Port St. Lucie gained 13,169 residents between 2022 and 2023, for a total population of about 239,000.

Cape Coral in Southwest Florida had a population increase of 7,540 people between July 2022 and July 2023. That’s the 15th biggest population increase in the U.S., according to the census data.

Texas dominated the list of largest population gains, with seven cities in the top 15. Florida had the second most, with its three cities on the list. North Carolina had two.

While those numbers looked at raw population growth, the Census Bureau also measured growth in team of percentage increases. That analysis saw two other Florida cities on that second list. Both Haines City and Leesburg made the top 15 fastest growing cities by percentage, with at least 20,000 people in population.

Haines City was seventh on that list, with a 10.8% jump in population between July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023. That pushed the number of Haines City residents to about 37,000 in the Central Florida town just south of Orlando off Interstate 4.

Leesburg saw an 8.7% increase in that annual time frame. That increased Leesburg’s population to about 31,000 in the Central Florida city northwest of Orlando.

Texas also dominated the percentage of population increase for cities in the U.S. Eight of the 15 fastest growing cities were in the Lone Star State. Texas snagged the top 4 fastest growing cities, with Celina topping the list. Florida was the only other state with more than one city on that ranking.