Demographics of Florida

Florida is the third-most populous state in the United States. It is home to people from many different ethnic, racial, national, and religious backgrounds. Many people from Latin America have made Florida their home, adding to the state's rich cultural mix.

The largest group of people in Florida are European Americans, making up about 65% of the population, who mainly identify as White. There are also large communities of people from Latin America, especially Cubans, who moved to Florida after big changes in their country many years ago. Today, over 20% of Floridians speak Spanish, especially in areas like Miami-Dade County.

Between the years of the 2010 and 2020 census, Florida's population grew. While 50 counties got bigger, 17 got smaller. Most people in Florida live in cities and towns, with nearly 97% living in urban areas. In 2022, Florida was growing faster than any other state in the country, a change not seen since 1957. In the 2020 census, Florida had about 401 people living in each square mile.

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	34,730	—
1840	54,477	56.9%
1850	87,445	60.5%
1860	140,424	60.6%
1870	187,748	33.7%
1880	269,493	43.5%
1890	391,422	45.2%
1900	528,542	35.0%
1910	752,619	42.4%
1920	968,470	28.7%
1930	1,468,211	51.6%
1940	1,897,414	29.2%
1950	2,771,305	46.1%
1960	4,951,560	78.7%
1970	6,791,418	37.2%
1980	9,746,324	43.5%
1990	12,937,926	32.7%
2000	15,982,378	23.5%
2010	18,801,310	17.6%
2020	21,538,187	14.6%
2025 (est.)	23,462,518	8.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1830–1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2025

Population

Florida's metropolitan areas and major cities

Florida has almost 23 million people, making it the most populous state in the Southeastern United States and the second-most populous in the South after Texas. Many people in Florida are older, with the highest percentage of people over 65 in the United States. Fewer young people live there compared to many other states.

Most of Florida’s population growth happens because people move there from other places. In 2020, the number of births and deaths was about the same. Many of the people moving to Florida are between the ages of 50 and 69.

Florida's population density per square mile

In 2020, the average age of people in Florida was 43 years. Women tended to be a bit older on average than men.

The 2020 Census counted 9,865,350 homes in Florida. Most of these homes (86.5%) were lived in, while 13.5% were empty. Of the homes that were lived in, about two-thirds were owned by the people living there, and one-third were rented. Many of the empty homes were used for holidays or special occasions.

Most families in Florida in 2020 were made up of married couples, accounting for 45.6% of all households.

Year	In-migrants	Out-migrants	Net migration
2010	482,889	427,853	55,036
2011	498,597	437,202	61,395
2012	537,148	428,325	108,823
2013	529,406	423,995	105,411
2014	546,501	437,516	108,985
2015	584,938	445,320	139,618
2016	605,018	433,452	171,566
2017	566,476	447,586	118,890
2018	587,261	470,977	116,284
2019	601,611	457,301	144,310
2020	NA	NA	NA
2021	674,740	469,577	205,163
2022	738,969	489,905	249,064
2023	636,933	510,925	126,008

Political

As of June 30, 2025, more people in Florida are registered as Republicans than as Democrats. There are 5,509,500 Republican voters, compared to 4,192,786 Democratic voters. Another 3,438,211 people are registered with no party affiliation.

Race and ethnicity

Florida's people come from many different backgrounds. In the 2020 census, about half of the state’s people were from non-Hispanic white families. Many others were from Hispanic or Latino families, African-American families, and Asian families. There were also smaller groups from Native American and other backgrounds.

By 2024, more than one in four people in Florida were from Hispanic or Latino families. This made Florida the 9th state where non-Hispanic white people made up less than half of all people. The state’s people include many from different countries and cultures, making Florida a colorful mix.

Racial Makeup of Florida (2024)

White alone (54.2%)

Black alone (14.8%)

Native American alone (0.43%)

Asian alone (3.09%)

Pacific Islander alone (0.09%)

Some other race alone (6.89%)

Two or more races (20.6%)

Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Florida excluding Hispanics from Racial Categories (2024)
NH=Non-Hispanic

White NH (49.1%)

Black NH (14.3%)

Native American NH (0.11%)

Asian NH (3.02%)

Pacific Islander NH (0.08%)

Some other race NH (0.69%)

Two or more races NH (4.05%)

Hispanic Any Race (28.7%)

Racial Makeup of Hispanics in Florida (2024)

White alone (17.8%)

Black alone (1.66%)

Native American alone (1.12%)

Asian alone (0.25%)

Pacific Islander alone (0.04%)

Some other race alone (21.6%)

Two or more races (57.5%)

Historical racial composition	2020	2010	2000	1990	1980
White (non-Hispanic)	51.5%	57.9%	65.4%	73.2%	76.7%
Hispanic or Latino	26.5%	22.5%	16.8%	12.2%	8.8%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	14.5%	15.2%	14.2%	13.1%	13.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	3.0%	2.4%	1.7%	1.1%	0.5%
Native American (non-Hispanic)	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
Other Race (non-Hispanic)	0.6%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%
Two or more races (non-Hispanic)	3.7%	1.6%	1.5%	N/A	N/A
Population	21,538,187	18,801,310	15,982,378	12,937,926	9,746,324

Ancestry	Number (As of 2022)	%
German	2,007,413	9.0
English	1,885,506	8.5
Irish	1,827,802	8.2
American	1,646,830	7.4
Cuban	1,556,305	7.0
Italian	1,281,496	5.8
Puerto Rican	1,239,809	5.6
Mexican	722,134	3.2
Haitian	544,043	2.4
Polish	463,313	2.1
Colombian	444,660	2.0
Venezuelan	380,972	1.7
French (except Basque)	378,739	1.7
Scottish	319,847	1.4
Dominican	309,060	1.4
Jamaican	294,487	1.3
Indian	222,576	1.0
Filipino	188,834	0.8
Guatemalan	174,923	0.8
Subsaharan African	174,695	0.8
Russian	171,638	0.8
Nicaraguan	171,579	0.8
Honduran	162,517	0.7
Arab	159,421	0.7
Scotch-Irish	148,942	0.7
Swedish	146,572	0.7
Peruvian	142,916	0.6
Chinese	142,652	0.6
Dutch	141,601	0.6
Norwegian	120,115	0.5
Brazilian	110,733	0.5
Vietnamese	108,825	0.5
French Canadian	101,114	0.5

Vital statistics

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Note: Births in the table exceed 100% because some Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother
Race	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
White	98,586 (45.7%)	100,837 (45.8%)	102,549 (45.7%)	99,344 (44.1%)	96,280 (43.1%)	95,868 (43.2%)	93,590 (42.5%)	88,080 (42.0%)	91,223 (42.2%)	91,763 (40.9%)	90,118 (40.7%)
Black	52,959 (24.6%)	53,148 (24.1%)	53,699 (23.9%)	48,928 (21.7%)	49,428 (22.1%)	48,174 (21.7%)	47,730 (21.7%)	45,585 (21.7%)	45,710 (21.1%)	47,635 (21.2%)	44,898 (20.3%)
Asian	7,265 (3.4%)	7,402 (3.4%)	7,603 (3.4%)	7,178 (3.2%)	7,015 (3.1%)	6,996 (3.2%)	7,069 (3.2%)	6,539 (3.1%)	6,506 (3.0%)	6,592 (2.9%)	6,789 (3.1%)
American Indian	392 (0.2%)	406 (0.2%)	373 (0.2%)	237 (0.1%)	429 (0.2%)	413 (0.2%)	400 (0.2%)	229 (0.1%)	227 (0.1%)	231 (0.1%)	239 (0.1%)
Hispanic (any race)	59,206 (27.5%)	61,849 (28.1%)	64,078 (28.6%)	65,895 (29.3%)	67,049 (30.0%)	67,201 (30.3%)	68,234 (31.0%)	66,156 (31.6%)	69,375 (32.1%)	74,864 (33.4%)	75,987 (34.3%)
Total	215,407 (100%)	219,991 (100%)	224,269 (100%)	225,022 (100%)	223,630 (100%)	221,542 (100%)	220,002 (100%)	209,671 (100%)	216,260 (100%)	224,433 (100%)	221,410 (100%)

Languages

As of 2010, most people in Florida, about 73%, spoke English at home. Many others spoke different languages, like Spanish, which was spoken by about 20% of people. Some spoke French Creole, French, or Portuguese.

Florida schools have students who speak over 200 different languages. The state’s official language is English, a rule that started in 1988. In places like Miami, a special way of speaking English has developed, especially among people whose families come from Spanish-speaking countries.

Top Languages in Florida
Language	Percent of population (2010)
English	73.36%
Spanish	19.54%
French Creole (including Haitian and Antillean Creoles)	1.84%
French	0.60%
Portuguese	0.50%
German	0.42%
Tagalog, Vietnamese, Italian (tied)	0.31%
Arabic	0.22%
Chinese	0.20%
Russian	0.18%
Polish	0.14%

Religion

Florida residents mostly follow different Christian traditions. Many belong to Protestant groups, while Roman Catholics form the largest single group. Some people follow other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism, while others do not follow any specific religion.

Veterans

Florida is home to many veterans, people who served in the military. In 2010, about 1.6 million veterans lived in Florida, making up 8% of the state's population. Florida has one of the largest groups of veterans in the United States, ranking third after California and Texas. By 2023, the number of veterans in Florida had grown to around 1.4 million, with most being male.

Homelessness

In 2023, Florida had about 30,809 people who did not have a home for the night. About half of these people did not have a safe place to stay. Many of these individuals were Black, showing an imbalance in who experiences homelessness.

Migration

Many people move to Florida from other places. In 2013, the most people came from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Midwestern United States. Some people also move away from these states to Florida.

Florida's growing population includes many people from other countries. By 2021, more than 21% of Florida’s people were born in another country. Most of these people come from Latin America.

Education

In 2023, about 34.9% of people in Florida who were 25 years old or more had finished a bachelor's degree or higher. This is a little less than the national average of 36.2%. Also, in that same year, 66.2% of students aged 3 and older were going to school, which is also a bit below the national average of 67.8%. Over the years, more adults in Florida have been getting bachelor's degrees, showing a slow rise in education levels across the state.