Demographics of Florida

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Florida Population Density Map

The Demographics of Florida is undergoing dynamic change. As the third most populous of the states, and currently the fastest growing state. It contains large numbers of people from a wide variety of ethnic, racial, national, and religious backgrounds. The state continues to attract significant numbers of immigrants, and continues to grow dramatically in over-all size. It's population is expected to double between 2000 and 2030.^[1]

Florida has a majority ethnic group, with approximately 65% considered White American. There are many national communities in the state, Particularly Cubans who migrated there during the past century to the southern end. Spanish is said to be the state's "second most spoken language", especially in Miami-Dade County area.

Demographers have speculated that Florida will have a Hispanic majority by the year 2035, due to large-scale immigration and birth rates of Hispanic immigrants outdone non-Hispanic groups.

Florida's population stands at 18 million people, making it the third most populous state in the Western Hemisphere, exceeded only by California and Texas.

[edit] Racial Makeup

According to the 2005 census, the racial distributions are as follows; 63.1% White American, 16% African-American, 2.1% Asian American, 1.4% others, and the remaining 18% are Hispanics or Latino (of any race).

Florida's Hispanic population includes large communities of Cuban Americans in Miami and Tampa, Puerto Ricans in Tampa and Orlando, and Central American migrant workers in inland West-Central and South Florida. The Hispanic community continues to grow more affluent and mobile: between the years of 2000 and 2004, Lee County in Southwest Florida, which is largely suburban in character, had the fastest Hispanic population growth rate of any county in the United States.

Whites of all ethnicities are present in all areas of the state. Those of British and Irish ancestry are present in large numbers in all the urban/suburban areas across the state. There is a large German population in Southwest Florida, a large Greek population in the Tarpon Springs area, a sizable and historic Italian community in the Miami area, and white Floridians of longer-present generations in the culturally southern areas of inland and northern Florida. Native white Floridians, especially those who have descended from long-time Florida families, affectionately refer to themselves as "Florida crackers." Like all the other southern states, they descend mainly from Scots-Irish as well as some British settlers.

[edit] Religion

Florida is mostly Protestant, but Roman Catholicism is the single largest denomination in the state. There is also a sizable Jewish community, located mainly in South Florida;. Florida's current religious affiliations are shown in the table below:^[2]