Volusia Population Nears 600K in Census Bureau Report

Those crowds on the roads in Volusia County aren’t just from Bike Week and Daytona 500 visitors but from new residents pushing the county’s population near 600,000.

The county’s population grew by 2% between July 2022 and July 2023 according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage Population 2023 Estimates, to 590,357. The increase follows a trend already underway that saw the county’s population go up between 11,000 and 13,000 annually since 2020.

According to Volusia County Economic Development Director Lou Paris, that growth should continue if the county takes steps to ensure a good quality of life for current residents and newcomers.

“Florida is and will continue to be an attractive location for many people,” he said. “As long as Volusia County remains vigilant as the population changes, protecting the natural resources and responding proportionately to the housing, infrastructure, and employment needs of our residents and businesses, the effect on our community will remain positive.”

Volusia County’s growth also mirrors changing demographics across the Sunshine State.

According to the Census Bureau report, Florida is home to four of the five fastest-growing metro areas in the nation by percentage. Led by The Villages at No. 2 and Lakeland/Winter Haven in the second spot, the list also includes Ocala in fourth and Port St. Lucie in Fifth spot.

In addition, three of the top 10 metro areas for annual numeric growth are in Florida, including the Orlando/Kissimmee/Sanford area, Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach.

On average, counties in the South experienced faster growth in 2023 than in 2022, according to the Census Bureau report. Approximately 67% of the counties in the region experienced population gains in 2023, up from 59% in 2022. In Florida, 96% of the state’s 67 counties saw population increases with only three – Leon, Monroe and Pinellas – losing population.

Nationally, the number of counties with positive net domestic migration increased in all other regions except the West, where 253 counties experienced positive domestic migration in 2023, down from 275 counties in 2022. The Northeast saw the largest increase in the share of counties with positive domestic migration from 44% in 2022 to 52% in 2023. The number of southern counties with positive rates of domestic migration increased from 957 in 2022 to 1,014 in 2023, while the number of those counties in the Midwest increased from 561 to 581.

International migration also had an impact in the state, with Miami-Dade County claiming the top spot with 54,457new residents from outside the U.S., followed by Harris County, Texas with 41,665.