Florida has long dominated the Census Bureau’s rapidly growing top 10 list, but it hasn’t held the number one spot since 1957. growth.
Mo people, mo problems, in other words The Notorious BIG
New figures show Florida will grow by 1.9% between 2021 and 2022, reaching 22,244,823 residents. By comparison, this is more than twice her population in Sweden and a little more than in Syria. Since the 2020 Census, the state’s population has increased by 706,597. Last year, Florida added an average of 8,014 new cases each week, or more than 1,100 each day.
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The natural increase rate (births minus deaths) is negative in Florida, so this increase is entirely due to planes, trains, and cars. Last year the state’s natural increase was minus 40,216, the largest natural decrease of any state. This is the Margaritaville effect, and Florida’s large retiree population. The census records that 21% of the state’s population is 65 years of age or older.
This means more than 40,000 people had to move to Florida just to bring population growth to zero in 2022. Many cars, u-hauls and transport vans are required to move the needle. And my needle is moving to the orange zone.
It’s easy to make fun of people who move into a place and expect the door to slam. Few people are more committed to preserving Florida’s natural environment than the people who live on land cleared by the last three clearcuts. I used to come here as a kid in his 1960’s, not too amoral. It was a boom period when population growth accelerated even further. It was an annual increase of 3.3% over the decade. This decade of his has seen truly epic environmental destruction, sprawl and poor planning. I was a child It wasn’t my fault.
Both the ’60s housing boom and the COVID-era housing boom were held back by age-old Florida promises of sunshine, nearby beaches and water, low cost of living, natural beauty, and a laid-back lifestyle. was brought here. Cheap heaven! All that feel threatened by demographic pressure. What draws people to Florida is threatened by the numbers that draw them.
New arrivals love heading to the coast — 76% of Floridians live in coastal areas. Coastal areas threatened by rising sea levels and increased hurricane activity.
Even though it’s been rebuilding since last year’s storm season, a new, larger building is envisioned in the same location waiting for the next storm.
Meanwhile, Congress has reached out to insurance companies to address the storm insurance crisis, helping homeowners who were hit hard again this spring and hurricane survivors who could not be relied upon if their insurance companies failed. Forgetting to face the next round. A trickle-down insurance reform is unlikely to catch on anytime soon.
As always with Florida’s population explosion, this recent growth bump (we’re number 1. We’re number 1!) has taken some toll. For example, the New Smyrna Beach City Council is poised to impose a building moratorium. For most parts of Florida looking for new growth so they can pay for the last round of growth, this is an abomination.
But it’s prudent to pause so the city can study flooding patterns from recent storms.
Look for similar proposals to attract attention in other coastal cities. At least one wish. It promises to build a much more hollow and better sound without pausing to see what happened.
Florida’s precarious balance between natural disasters and natural paradise is part of our character. Our sales materials, prospectuses and public statements naturally highlight pieces of paradise and always set us up to face reality. , Groucho Marx, who played the Sunshine State real estate huckster in the movie “The Coconuts,” said, “Florida, folks, land of constant sun. Let’s start the auction before the tornado hits.”
That didn’t slow the crowd down then. Not now.
Mark Lane is a news journal columnist. His email address is his mlanewrites@gmail.com.
