December, 7th 2013

The last official census within the United States was carried out in 2010 and the east coast state of Florida recorded a total number of citizens at 18,801,310. This made the Sunshine State the fourth most populous state in the US.

Florida Population 2013

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The most recent estimate was carried out in 2012 by the United States Census Bureau and it was estimated that the state’s population had reached 19,317,568. The Census Bureau haven't provided a new estimate for this year yet, but extrapolating from last year’s figures we can expect the population to have increased by roughly a further 250,000 people, bringing the Florida population of 2013 up past 19.5 million (estimated at 19,580,989). Florida's growth rate is one of the faster in the country (ranked 7th) at 1.36%.

In terms of population density, Florida has a surface area of 65,755 square miles (170,304 square kilometres). Based on the 2011 estimates, that equates to 353.4 people per square mile, (136.4 per square kilometre) and that makes it the eighth most densely populated state in the US.

Read on to find out more about the Florida population in 2013, or for more information about the overall US population check out our overview article on the United States.

Florida Population Growth

Records from 1830 show that a mere 34,730 people lived in Florida but, like the rest of the US, those numbers were to grow dramatically from then onwards. By 1840, the number of people who live in Florida had increased by over 50% to 54,477 and similar decade on decade jumps were experienced for the rest of the 19^th century.

That pattern remained for the early part of the 20^th century as well, and by 1950 the population of Florida had grown to 2,771,305. However, the biggest growth was yet to follow and in 1960, the national census revealed that numbers had leapt by 78.7% to 4,951,560 over the preceding ten years.

More increases came throughout the decades but the latest census shows that rises are slowing down. In 2000, the population of Florida was 15,982,378 and the increase to 2010 was therefore just 17.6%.

Florida Demographics

Much of the population increase is due to net migration, not only from overseas but from within the US itself. Current claims suggest that around two thirds of residents were born in another state – a statistic that is the second highest in the US.

Florida also has a high proportion of illegal aliens with figures around 5.7% – the sixth largest in the US.

As you can see from the widget at the top of the page, at the 2010 census 75% of Florida’s population declared themselves to be white (57.9% were Hispanic white) and the second largest ethnic group were Black or African American at 16%. The balance was made up by Asian, Native American and other, unspecified races.

Florida in 2020

If growth continues at roughly the same rate, by the time that the next Census is undertaken in 2020, numbers should have comfortably burst through 20 million, and probably even past 21 million.