City Life Attracts Population Growth Across U.S.

While Eva Gabor gave up her penthouse view for the greener acres of Hooterville, the bright lights of the big city are attracting a growing number of people to choose an urban lifestyle these days, and the U.S. Census Bureau has the statistics to prove it. According to a release from the agency, population growth in U.S. metro areas as a whole was faster between 2023 and 2024 than in the previous year and outpaced that of the nation. Additionally, some metro areas that experienced population declines during the COVID-19 pandemic are now observing population gains, the release said.

“Increasingly, population growth in metro areas is being shaped by international migration,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division, in the release. “While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these areas.”

Jeff Brown, Daytona Beach Economic and Strategic Opportunities director, said population growth increases the demand for housing, retail, restaurants and services in the city, which in turn requires construction, allows for small-business growth and overall job creation.

“As we have recently seen, the city’s growing population has attracted some national brands (Trader Joe’s and Sprouts for example) who want to locate in our area due to the strong market potential,” he said. “As our population increases, other brands will be considering Daytona Beach as a location in the future.”

That population growth does come with challenges, especially to infrastructure.

“The biggest challenge is ensuring infrastructure can address the demands of growth,” Brown said. “City staff is continuously discussing the level of capacity of the city’s infrastructure to accommodate growth. The city also has to work with our partners (Volusia County and the Florida Department of Transportation) when addressing traffic capacity since many roads in the city are their responsibility.”

In Palm Coast, Economic Development Manager Craig McKinney said population growth is at the “forefront of essential topics” for the city. He said the city’s population grew more than 25% from 2010 to 2022, and Flagler County is forecasted to grow by 43% over the next 25 years.

“With that, the question becomes what is the best way to manage this growth effectively in a way that continues to make Palm Coast a terrific place to live,” he said. “Another consideration is the population growth in Palm Coast and population growth in the greater region. Orlando is now officially the fastest-growing metro in the U.S. and moved up to become the 20^th largest metro in the country. With Palm Coast being located between the growing metros of Orlando and Jacksonville – which are also the second and third hottest job markets in the country – we have to recognize the ripple effects of it and strategically position ourselves for it in a way that takes advantages of the opportunities and proactively gets ahead of the challenges.”

McKinney said the population increase presents infrastructure capacity challenges to the city, including for transportation, utilities and public services.

“However, there are also great opportunities to diversify the economy and enhance the city’s cultural enrichment and community engagement,” he said. “Also, population growth presents a terrific opportunity for improving services in areas like healthcare and education.”

The rise in urban population comes at a time when many cities and towns are focusing on sustainability issues as they look to the future. And that includes Palm Coast.

“Sustainable growth in Palm Coast means managing development to meet current needs without compromising future generations,” McKinney said. “Palm Coast is addressing this through initiatives that outline strategies for smart-managed growth, infrastructure enhancement, and community resilience. Sustainable growth in Palm Coast also means maintaining the city’s character while accommodating current and future growth and ensuring that development aligns with environmental stewardship and our quality of life.”

In St. Augustine, the increase in population was small but still has an impact, according to Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline.

“Our issues come into play when you look at the rapid growth of areas just outside of the city limits,” she said in an interview with EVOLVE News.  “Looking at the area defined by the Florida Department of Transportation as the St. Augustine Urbanized Area, there are over 88,000 people living around our city, traveling through it to go to work, shop, school and other daily activities.  Add to the fact we host over 2 million overnight visitors a year, in a city with a historic 16^th century street system that was not intended for automobiles, and you can understand how we struggle with mobility issues.”

Sikes-Kline said the challenges associated with growth impact accessibility and mobility in St. Augustine as the city works to accommodate more people living in the area and visiting,

But the population growth also has a silver lining, she said.

“Opportunities associated with growth are better economic conditions that assist us in generating revenue needed to preserve and protect our rich historic, cultural and natural resources,” Sikes-Kline said. “Sustainable growth for our community means smart growth that allows us to adapt to climate change and preserve and protect our historic, cultural and natural resources.”

Much of the population growth over the past year came from international migration, and the Census Bureau said all of the nation’s 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, which accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas — up from 2.2 million between 2022 and 2023.

The growth in city population is happening all across the Sunshine State, with four of the Top 10 metro areas by percentage growth in Florida, including Ocala and Panama City, which ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively.