Florida
This Southern state shatters records with all-time population high — 350K new residents yearly
Move over, California and Texas — there’s a new heavyweight in town.
Florida’s population has officially crossed the 23 million mark — an all-time high — thanks to a massive influx of new residents flocking to the Sunshine State from other parts of the US and abroad.
As of April 1, Florida boasts 23,002,597 residents, according to the latest estimates from the state Demographic Estimating Conference, as reported by the Sun Sentinel. This milestone makes Florida the third most populous state in the nation, trailing only California’s 39.5 million and Texas’ 30.5 million.
The surge is nothing new — Florida has been adding between 350,000 to 375,000 people each year for more than a decade, with nearly 359,000 newcomers last year alone. However, the growth rate is expected to peak this year at 1.6% before slowing down in the coming years, as the baby boomer generation ages out of the workforce.
Interestingly, Florida’s population boom is entirely driven by migration. Since just before the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, deaths have outpaced births in the state, a trend that is expected to continue. Almost 10% of Florida’s residents are 75 and older, second only to Puerto Rico among US states and territories.
Other Republican southern states have seen similar growth spurts, while liberal northern states like New York experienced declines. The country’s population grew by 1.6 million over the past year, with 87% of that increase concentrated in Texas, Florida and South Carolina, according to new Census Bureau data.
Texas led the nation in population growth between July 2022 and July 2023, adding nearly half a million new residents amid the ongoing migrant crisis at the border. Following closely behind were Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, all benefiting from outmigration from other states.
“The growth in 2023 can largely be attributed to the region’s migration patterns,” the report explained, noting that 706,266 people were added via net domestic migration, while net international migration contributed almost 500,000 to the total.
States like New York, California and Illinois saw their populations shrink as residents fled high taxes and the soaring cost of living. California lost 338,371 residents to other states, New York shed 216,778, and Illinois saw 83,839 leave. While these losses have been offset by new migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, the overall populations of these states still declined due to the exodus.
The South, however, is now facing a potential housing market crisis. The post-2020 rush to build new homes in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas has led to a glut in supply.
Homebuilders went into overdrive during the pandemic, meeting the demand from Americans seeking cheaper living and remote work opportunities. This has created a potential bubble that could spell trouble ahead.
But unlike the 2008 financial crisis, today’s homeowners have substantial equity in their properties, particularly in the South. “Historically, Florida has a high share of homeowners that own their home outright,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in that previous report.
“There’s a lot more equity in housing right now, which makes it less likely we’ll see the kind of price declines that led to trouble in the mid-2000s.”
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
Final appeals were pending Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Gray Reid has spent most of his career in basketball and sports media. He began as a student manager for the Nevada men’s basketball team, then went on to coach overseas in China and later joined the LC State men’s basketball program as a graduate assistant. After coaching, Gray joined SBLive Sports as a videographer and video editor, eventually moving into his current role as Regional Marketing Director.
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