Census Bureau: Florida nets more new
residents than any other state
WASHINGTON -- Aug. 6, 2003 -- Florida had a larger net increase in its
population between 1995-2000 than any other state, according to figures
released today by the Census Bureau. Realtors promoting themselves to
out-of-state buyers may want to concentrate marketing efforts on the eight
states that send a majority of their relocating residents to the Sunshine State.
Floridas net domestic migration (people
moving in from other states minus those moving out) of 607,000 came primarily
from states in the Northeast, particularly New York, which had a net contribution of
238,000 to Florida. In addition, other states
generally in the Northeast -- Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- also sent a substantial number
of new residents to Florida.
"To be No. 1 for three decades in a row, especially with the competition
from California and Texas, is an important trend," says
William H. Frey, a University of Michigan demographer. "Florida's staying power is
remarkable."
Many other Southern states, however, received more people moving from Florida than they sent. Georgia, for
example, received a net of 58,000 Floridians (the most of any state), meaning
58,000 more than the number of Georgians who moved to Florida; meanwhile,
39,000 more Floridians moved to North Carolina, 16,000 to Tennessee, and 7,000
to South Carolina. Other Southern states with net migration gains of more than
1,000 from Florida include Alabama (4,000), Texas (3,000) and Mississippi (2,000).
Thus, while a lot of people moved to Florida at the national level (607,000),
the state actually lost population if comparing numbers only in the South.
For Realtors marketing their services beyond Florida boundaries, the following states
list Florida as the top destination of those migrating to other states
(followed by the total number who moved to the Sunshine State between 1995 and 2000):
1. New
York (308,230)
2. New
Jersey (118,905)
3. Georgia (99,225)
4. Pennsylvania (92,385)
5. Ohio (90,833)
6. Michigan (74,949)
7. Massachusetts (68,058)
8. Connecticut (47,224)
9. Tennessee (45,483)
Florida and New Jersey have long been migration
destinations for New Yorkers, due to retiree migration, suburbanization and
other causes. The Census Bureau reports that North Carolina, however, is a more recent major
destination for New Yorkers -- five times as many people moved from New York to North Carolina as moved in the opposite direction.
While Florida ranked first in total number of new residents, it came in
No. 5 in rate of growth, which is expressed as the number of immigrants per
1,000 people in 1995. From 1995 to 2000, the states with the highest rates of
population growth were:
1. Nevada (151.5)
2. Arizona (74.3)
3. Georgia (48.6)
4. North Carolina (48.4)
5. Florida (44.0)
6. Colorado (43.8)
Other findings reported by the Census Bureau:
Florida also had the most people move into it between 1995-2000 with
1,860,772 immigrants. It was followed by California (1,448,964) and Texas
(1,362,849)
Florida came in No. 3 for the total number of people moving out of it with
1,253,749 residents choosing to take up residence elsewhere. California
(2,204,500) came in first followed by New York (1,600,725)
Hawaii lost the most people of any state with an out-migration rate of 65.4.
But Washington, D.C. had a net out-migration rate of 81.7
The highest gross migration rates -- meaning total number of people moving
regardless whether its in or out of the state -- occurred, from most to least,
in California (3,653,464), Florida (3,114,521), Texas (2,577,458), New York
(2,327,202) and Illinois (1,672,860)
Net out-migration in the Northeast reached 25.5 per 1,000 residents -- the
highest of any national region