As people continue to move out of Democratic-run cities, new statistics show there’s one state in particular they are flocking to: Florida.
Four out of the top five metropolitan areas with the highest percentage population increases came from the Sunshine State, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2020 to 2023 released on Thursday.
Lakeland reported a 12.1% increase, Port St. Lucie reported 9.6%, Cape Coral reported 9%, and North Port reported 8.6% in Florida. They were followed by Provo, Utah, with 8.4%, and Austin, Texas, at 7.5%.
These involved areas are all exclusively represented by Republican members of Congress: Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) in Lakeland, which has elected Republican candidates since at least 2000; Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) covers Port St. Lucie, which switched from a Democratic candidate to a Republican in 2020; Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) represent Cape Coral and North Port, respectively, where Republican candidates have prevailed since 2012; Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) has Provo in his district, which has voted Republican since at least 2000; and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) turned the tides of Austin when he won the seat over the Democratic-controlled district in 2004 and remained in office ever since.
Meanwhile, the areas that reported a population loss were all represented by Democratic members. Rep. Troy Carter’s (D-LA) district encapsulates New Orleans, which had the highest population loss at 4.3% and has voted Democrat since 2010. Next, San Francisco lost 3.7% under the reign of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) after voting in Democratic candidates since 2006. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) represents the Los Angeles area, where 2.9% of the population left after a long line of exclusively Democratic candidates since at least 1990.
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“Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth,” the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch chief, Lauren Bowers, said. “Meanwhile, county population growth is slowing down out west, such as in Arizona and Idaho.”
Among the top five metropolitan areas with the highest population losses, New York City lost 78,000 residents in 2023, which was a change of about 2.5% since 2020. The area is represented by many, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), among other Democratic members.