WASHINGTON – March 21, 2011 – New Census data show that Florida has registered its seventh consecutive decade of double-digit population growth. While the nation as a whole grew by 9.7 percent, the number of Sunshine State residents surged 17.6 percent as 2.8 million more people put down stakes here from between 2000 and 2010.

Demographers noted that Florida’s minority populations increased as well, with the number of Hispanics and African Americans swelling by 57.4 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.

“When we look at how Florida grew, it was driven primarily by migration, particularly by domestic migration from other parts of the United States,” explained Kenneth Johnson, a senior demographer with the Carsey Institute. “That was an important force, although it did slow down at the end of the decade.”

The state’s population gains also materialized despite a high rate of unemployment coupled with a housing slump. The Census statistics reveal that almost 1.7 million new residential units were constructed over the past decade, for a total of 8.9 million; however, the number of vacant properties catapulted nearly 63 percent over the same time frame to 1.5 million from 603,76