Many more people are moving to Florida's metro areas. Tampa, Orlando and South Florida all landed in the U.S. Census Bureau's top 10 for biggest gainers of new neighbors from July 2015 to July 2016.

  • Tampa #4, South Florida #7, Orlando #8 in largest gaining metros through migration
  • All three also in top 10 for overall population
  • Expert: more people moving back to metro areas, particularly young professionals

Among the top 10 largest gaining metros through migration, Tampa came in at number four, with some 58,000 new residents.

South Florida landed at number seven, having added about 48,000, while Orlando came in at number eight, with nearly 47,000 residents added.

All three were also in the top 10 for overall population, which includes migration and natural causes (difference between birth and death rates). Tampa grew to 3 million residents last year, adding 61,000 residents, while Orlando gained 60,000 new neighbors with a population of 2.4 million.

The Villages community, just of northwest of Orlando, had the highest overall growth rate last year at 4.3% nationally.

Flocking to Florida for the amenities

St Pete resident, urban planning consultant, and author Peter Kageyama said there's a significant national trend to move back to the metro areas, especially among young professionals.

"They're flocking there for the amenities, for the lifestyle and for the economic opportunities that are obviously happening in our cities,” said Kageyama.  “And I think you combine that with some of the lifestyle factors that we have here in Florida, you have a very potent combination, and that's showing in those numbers."       

In a recent Top 100 Best Places to Live survey by U.S. News and World Report, Tampa ranked as #35 and Orlando at #40.

Kageyama, who has traveled to small cities, big cities and mega cities, said Tampa and Orlando offer up great incentives to move, but urban planning better catch up to the new census numbers.

"Florida has always been a state that has been predicated on growth," said Kageyama. But I think the fact that so many of these people are moving into downtown urban areas, that is going to be a bit of a challenge.”

Kageyama's book "For the Love of Cities" describes the relationship between people and the place they live in.
He said the challenges with growth can be fixed with development.

"You know you just can't expect people to come because we have jobs and sunshine -- we've got to give them great places to live," said Kageyama.

He proposed that technology might be Tampa or Orlando’s saving grace.  Even though the opportunities for high-speed rail along the I-4 Corridor have come and gone, Kageyama believes driver-less cars could be the answer to deal with growth.

"Perhaps within the next five to 10 years we might have a major shift in how we think about transportation,” he said.  “And we don't have to necessarily be investing in infrastructure, neither rail nor new roads."