ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s widely known that people are increasingly calling Florida home, and according to new data, the Orlando area is a popular choice to plant roots.
The Orlando Economic Partnership pulled data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which revealed that Orlando’s population expanded by 2.7% in 2024, surpassing Florida’s overall growth rate of 2.0%.
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This makes Orlando the fastest-growing large region in the United States and the highest among the country’s 30 most populous areas.
The latest estimates indicate that the Orlando metropolitan statistical area (MSA) added approximately 76,000 new residents between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024. This growth translates to about 1,500 new residents each week, bringing the region’s total population to 2,940,513.
Orlando’s rise in population has propelled it to become the 20th most populous region in the country. This milestone reflects a broader trend of population shifts toward the southern United States, with regions in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina leading the way.
According to the Orlando Economic Partnership, international migration has emerged as the primary driver of population growth in the Orlando region.
Since the 2020 Census, Orlando has gained a total of 267,126 new residents, a figure comparable to the combined populations of the region’s four other largest cities — Kissimmee, Sanford, St. Cloud, and Apopka. Notably, nearly 65% of this growth can be attributed to international migration, with domestic migration contributing 25% and natural change accounting for just 10%.
Orlando isn’t the only Florida city experiencing a population boost. U.S. Census Bureau data showed that the Miami and Tampa regions landed in the top 15 MSAs.
20 most metropolitan statistical areas:
| MSA | 2023 Population | 2024 Population | Numeric Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 2,864,544 | 2,940,513 | 75,969 | 2.7% |
| 2 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 7,598,011 | 7,796,182 | 198,171 | 2.6% |
| 3 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 2,492,618 | 2,550,637 | 58,019 | 2.3% |
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 8,166,110 | 8,344,032 | 177,922 | 2.2% |
| 5 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 2,822,194 | 2,883,370 | 61,176 | 2.2% |
| 6 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 6,334,517 | 6,457,988 | 123,471 | 1.9% |
| 7 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 2,354,285 | 2,398,871 | 44,586 | 1.9% |
| 8 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 2,715,709 | 2,763,006 | 68,585 | 1.7% |
| 9 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 5,102,020 | 5,186,958 | 84,938 | 1.7% |
| 10 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 4,078,828 | 4,145,494 | 66,666 | 1.6% |
| 11 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 3,374,078 | 3,424,560 | 50,482 | 1.5% |
| 12 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 6,345,881 | 6,436,489 | 90,608 | 1.4% |
| 13 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 6,336,015 | 6,411,149 | 75,134 | 1.2% |
| 14 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 2,434,464 | 2,463,127 | 28,663 | 1.2% |
| 15 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 4,967,266 | 5,025,517 | 58,251 | 1.2% |
| 16 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 19,726,871 | 19,940,274 | 213,403 | 1.1% |
| 17 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 3,020,750 | 3,052,498 | 31,748 | 1.1% |
| 18 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 3,722,476 | 3,757,952 | 35,476 | 1.0% |
| 19 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 2,282,624 | 2,302,815 | 20,191 | 0.9% |
| 20 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 4,704,354 | 4,744,214 | 39,860 | 0.8% |
