Last year, more individuals migrated to a county rich in citrus groves nestled between two of Florida’s most populated metro regions than to any other county in the United States, according to Census Bureau statistics released on Thursday.
Last year, over 29,300 people relocated to the county between Tampa and Orlando, two metro areas where housing has become increasingly expensive and the county is regarded as a cheaper alternative.
Polk County has quickly transitioned from orange groves along Interstate 4 to communities for local service workers, as well as distribution warehouses for on-demand deliveries to inhabitants of both urban centers.
According to the 2023 population predictions, almost all of Polk County’s increase — 88% — was due to people moving from other parts of the United States rather than from abroad.
“Subdivision growth has been accelerating, and it occurs in such a way that it is often overlooked. But when you’re caught in traffic, you really notice what’s going on,” Matt Joyner, a seventh-generation Polk County resident, said of the surge of new inhabitants.
Only four other counties — Harris and Montgomery counties in metro Houston; Collin County in metro Dallas; and Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix — expanded by more people due to greater rates of natural increase, or births outnumbering deaths.
Harris County, which includes Houston, expanded by over 54,000 people last year, more than any other county, with births surpassing deaths accounting for roughly two-thirds of the increase. The natural rise of about 34,700 persons was the largest in the country.
Despite an influx of thousands of new residents from abroad and births outnumbering deaths, some of the most populous U.S. counties lost the most residents last year as a result of their relocation to other counties, a trend that accelerated at the start of the decade with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leading the way was Los Angeles County, which had 56,000 fewer population. Three counties representing the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx in New York City followed, losing 28,300, 26,300, and 25,300 inhabitants, respectively. However, outflows from these large countries were significantly lower last year than in 2022.
However, New York City officials believe the Census Bureau’s figures fail to account for last year’s flood of tens of thousands of asylum seekers. The city hired out entire hotels to shelter migrants, installed cots in schools, and temporarily housed people in tents, a cruise ship terminal, and a disused police academy facility.
According to city officials, up to 50,000 people were overlooked in the city’s shelters, and they intend to challenge the estimates with the Census Bureau.
“We wanted to flag it,” said Casey Berkovitz, the communications secretary for New York’s Department of City Planning. “Once you account for this underestimate … the year marked a return to pre-pandemic levels.”
International migration increased by double digits year on year in the most popular immigrant destinations, including counties in South Florida and those surrounding Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Jose.
The estimates make no distinction between legal and illegal immigration, making it impossible to determine whether any of the growth was caused by unauthorized border crossings. Arrests for unlawful crossings reached a record high in December but plummeted by nearly half in January.
Miami-Dade County had the biggest number of new residents from outside the United States last year, with about 54,500, representing a nearly 40% increase over the previous year. The overseas migration offset the departure of about 47,000 residents from Miami-Dade County for other counties in the United States.
Among metro regions, which incorporate counties with social and economic linkages, the Dallas metro area saw the most increase last year, adding more than 152,000 citizens and surpassing 8 million for the first time. Metro Houston followed suit, adding about 140,000 individuals, while metro Atlanta had an increase of more than 68,000 people.
Metro Atlanta moved up two points from last year to become the sixth most populous metro area, with 6.3 million residents. It is only surpassed by metropolitan New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston.
Polk County, with over 62,000 acres of citrus trees, is one of Florida’s largest orange growers. In recent years, the state’s citrus industry has been pressed between a rapidly spreading disease that has undermined tree health throughout the state and unrelenting growth that has spilled over as its metro regions have expanded.
Despite this, Polk County has maintained its citrus legacy. The majority of the expansion has occurred in the county’s northeastern region, just a few miles from Walt Disney World in metropolitan Orlando.
However, many of the citrus producers who sold their land to subdivision builders have since relocated to the southern portion of the county, where citrus groves remain numerous, according to Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, a growers’ advocacy group.
If new residents drive through Polk County’s groves right now, they will see white blooms on citrus trees and a delicious perfume in the air.
“Everywhere you go right now, the groves are snow white and the smell is sweet,” Joyner went on to say. “It reminds you of the old days.”