The population has kept growing in many of Florida’s metropolitan areas, including South Florida and Central Florida — putting them in national Top Ten lists, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Recently released data showed the combined populations of Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach rising by 123,471 to more than 6.4 million people, good for No. 4 nationally numeric growth among major metro areas for the period between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024.

In the Central Florida metro area of Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, the population rose by 75,969 people to more than 2.864 million, good for No. 7 on the U.S. list.

Four Florida metro areas appeared on a national Top Ten percentage growth list. Ocala emerged on top, its population rising by 4%, Panama City-Panama City Beach came in second at 3.8%, while Lakeland-Winter Haven was fourth at 3.5% and Port St. Lucie was seventh at 2.9%.

The Census figures do not cover the severest portion of last year’s hurricane season, which spawned severe storms such as Helene and Milton. Both caused enough destruction to prompt people to abandon their properties and relocate, although many vowed to rebuild .

Since before COVID-19, population growth has been a constant for the state of Florida, which is the third most populous state in the nation with more than 23.3 million residents. People living in major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, Midwest and elsewhere flocked to the Sunshine State, which lifted restrictions on business and public gatherings well ahead of other states. In multiple instances, businesses relocated headquarters and regional offices to South Florida, bringing their employees with them.

But the surge appears to be easing in the face of higher living costs — particularly in the housing sector.

Earlier this year, major moving companies including Allied Van Lines and U-Haul found in separate surveys that the gap between inbound and outbound residents in Florida was narrowing, with a potential balancing of the two categories of residential movers not far off.

Immigration curbs cloud outlook

Now, emerging tough immigration policies on the federal and state levels loom as major speed bumps for international relocations to Florida.

In early February, the Florida Demographic Estimating Conference, which meets to forecast population levels to help state officials set policies, postponed making any population projections until immigration decisions by the Trump Administration become more clear.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis showed no hesitation, signing a package of bills designed to follow through on Trump’s deportation plans. The state measures include a $300 million allocation for immigration enforcement, and a death penalty provision for undocumented immigrants who commit capital offenses.

“In this regard, the Conference principals agreed that emerging and evolving changes to federal and state immigration policies will exert downward pressure on Florida’s population projections,” the forecasting group said in a February statement. “Because these policy shifts are still in developmental stages, no data is currently available to model the magnitude of the likely impacts, nor their duration and timing between quarters and fiscal years.”

For now, the state forecasters have readopted what they previously projected. For example, they believe Florida’s population would rise to more than 24.7 million people by 2030 for a gain of 1.2%, according to data that appears on the conference website.