Despite a struggling economy, and inaccurate reports that Florida’s population shrunk in 2008, central Florida retirement communities led the surge in helping the state maintain and even grow slightly its population numbers.
Between July 2007 and July 2008 Florida only added just over 100,000 residents. While this is the slowest growth rate the state has experienced since the 1940’s, growth is growth. And its certainly better than the decrease in population that many pundits wrongly predicted.
Flagler, which was the fastest-growing county between 2000 and 2007, jumping from 49,832 to an estimated 93,568, is expected to continue to expand at a rapid rate, to 103,500 by 2010, Smith said. Its coastal location, proximity to Jacksonville and relatively low cost of living, as well as the presence of the large Palm Coast development, contribute to its high ranking, he said.
Other rapidly growing counties are Sumter, which owes its surge in part to … the increasing number of residents at The Villages retirement community, and Osceola County, which receives spillover from nearby Orlando.
Source: http://news.ufl.edu/2008/03/27/florida-population-2/
