Demographics of Florida

Florida is the third-most populous state in the United States. Its residents include people from a wide variety of ethnic, racial, national and religious backgrounds. The state has attracted immigrants, particularly from Latin America. Florida's majority ethnic group are European Americans, with approximately 65% of the population identifying as White. National ethnic communities in the state include Cubans, who migrated en masse following the revolution in the mid 20th century. They have been joined by other immigrants from Latin America, and Spanish is spoken by more than 20% of the state's population, with high usage especially in the Miami-Dade County area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 census, the population of the state overall did increase. 50 counties in Florida would experience population growth while 17 counties saw their populations decline. Most of Florida's population lives in urban areas as in the 2020 census, close to 97% of people in Florida resided in metropolitan areas. Florida in the 2022 US Census estimate was the fastest growing state in terms of population and the first time it was the fastest growing since 1957. In the 2020 census Florida had a population density of 401.4 people per square mile.

Population
With a population getting close to 23 million people according to the 2023 US Census estimates, Florida is the most populous state in the Southeastern United States, and the second-most populous state in the South behind Texas. Within the United States, it contains the highest percentage of people over 65 (17.3%), and the 8th fewest people under 18 (21.9%). Florida's population growth primarily comes from those moving to the state. The rate of natural change of births and deaths is "typically flat" and actually had negative natural population change in 2020. The 2022 US Census estimate found the largest age group moving to Florida were those from 60 and 69 years old with the second largest age group being those from 50 to 59 years old.

Population by county by year
The population for each respective year comes from the decennial United States Census results.

2020 census
According to the 2020 census, the racial distributions are as follows; 51.5% Non-Hispanic White, 26.6% of the population are Hispanics or Latino (of any race), 14.5% African American, 4% Native American, and 2.3% Asian, Oriental and other. [[File:Florida Counties by race (2020 census).svg|thumb|Map of counties in Florida by racial plurality, per the 2020 US Census

Non-Hispanic White

{{legend|#e6b8af|30–40%}}

{{legend|#dd7e6b|40–50%}}

{{legend|#cc4125|50–60%}}

{{legend|#a61c00|60–70%}}

{{legend|#85200c|70–80%}}

{{legend|#5b0f00|80–90%}}

Hispanic or Latino

{{legend|#76a5af|50–60%}}

{{legend|#45818e|60–70%}}

Black or African American

{{legend|#ffd966|50–60%}}


 * 247x247px]]

2010 census
According to the 2010 census, the racial distributions are as follows; 53.5% Non-Hispanic White, 25.6% of the population are Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 15.2% African American (includes Afro-Caribbeans), 4.5% Native American, 2.0% Asian and others Florida has one of the largest African-American populations in the country, and has the second-highest Latino population on the East Coast outside of New York state. Its ethnic Asian population has grown rapidly since the late 1990s; the majority are Filipinos (163,000), Indians (128,000), Vietnamese (90,000), ethnic Chinese (81,000). The state has some federally recognized Native American tribes, such as the Seminoles in the southeastern part of the state.

2021 American Community Survey
According to the 2021 US Census Bureau estimates, Florida's population was 56.1% White (51.1% Non-Hispanic White), 15.1% Black or African American, 2.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American and Alaskan Native, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.5% Some Other Race, and 19.1% from two or more races. The White population continues to remain the largest racial category as a high percentage of Hispanics in Florida identify as White (18.4%) with others identifying as Some Other Race (21.9%), Multiracial (57.0%), Black (1.7%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (0.2%), Asian (0.1%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%). By ethnicity, 26.8% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 73.2% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). If treated as a separate category, Hispanics are the largest minority group in Florida.

Birth data
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.

Languages
, 73.36% of Florida residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 19.54% spoke Spanish, 1.84% French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole), 0.60% French and 0.50% Portuguese. In total, 26.64% of Florida's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.

Florida's public education system identified more than 200 first languages other than English spoken in the homes of students. In 1990, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) settled a class action lawsuit against the state Florida Department of Education with a consent decree that required educators to be trained in teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

Article II, Section 9, of the Florida Constitution provides that "English is the official language of the State of Florida." This provision was adopted in 1988 by a vote following an Initiative Petition.

A Miami accent has developed among persons born and/or raised in and around Miami-Dade County and a few other parts of South Florida. It is more prominent among Hispanics (especially Cuban Americans and other Latino groups, influenced by the Spanish language).

Religion
Florida residents identify as mostly of various Protestant groups. Roman Catholics make up the single largest denomination in the state. Florida residents' current religious affiliations are shown in the table below:
 * Christianity 70%
 * Protestantism 46%
 * Evangelical Protestant 24%
 * Mainline Protestant 14%
 * Historically Black Protestant 8%
 * Catholicism 21%
 * Mormonism 1%
 * Jehovah's Witness 1%
 * Other Christian 1%
 * Non-Christian Faiths 6%
 * Judaism 3%
 * Other religion (e.g. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism) 3%
 * Unaffiliated 24%

Veterans
There were 1.6 million veterans in Florida in 2010, representing 8% of the total population.

Migration
In 2013, most net migrants come from 1) New York, 2) New Jersey, 3) Pennsylvania, and 4) the Midwestern United States; emigration is higher from these same states. For example, about 50,000 moved to New York; but more than 50,000 people moved from New York to Florida.