Let's Talk...

Six FL Metros Among Fastest Growing 20 in Nation, Two in South West Florida...

Drivers stuck in traffic along Cleveland Avenue, Colonial Boulevard, or Cape Coral Parkway will groan in agreement with the release of a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thursday’s report found the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area to be among one of the fastest growing in the nation in 2014 and 2015.

According to the data, from July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro, which includes all of Lee County, grew by 3.3 percent putting it second among metro areas in Florida, behind only The Villages, a retirement community west of Orlando, which grew by 4.3 percent. The Villages have been the fastest growing metro area in the nation for the last three years in a row.

Nationally, only The Villages and Myrtle Beach, S.C. rank ahead of Lee County. Midland, Tex., and Odessa, Tex., also grew by 3.3 percent.

Census estimates put the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro’s population over 700,000 people for the first time, at 701,982. That ranks the area as the 79th largest metro area in the country, a gain of one spot over 2014.

Florida accounted for six of the 20 fastest growing metros, with Punta Gorda, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, and Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island finding spots on the list.

The Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro area, congruent with Collier County, grew by 2.6 percent from 2014 to 2015, with estimates putting the population at 357,305 in July of 2015. Combined, Lee and Collier Counties broke the 1,000,000 resident barrier for the first time in 2014.

Texas had five of the 20 fastest growing, South Carolina had three. Colorado and Utah each had two, while Oregon and North Carolina had one each.

Farmington, N.M., near the Four Corners, has the dubious honor of having the fastest shrinking metro area, with population falling by 4.2 percent.

20 FASTEST GROWING METRO AREAS
(percentage change follows city)

The Villages FL, 4.3

Myrtle Beach-Conway-N. Myrtle Beach SC-NC, 3.5

CAPE CORAL-FORT MYERS FL, 3.3

Midland TX, 3.3

Odessa TX, 3.3

Greeley CO, 3.2

Austin-Round Rock TX, 3.0

Bend-Redmond OR, 2.9

Punta Gorda FL, 2.8

Ft. Collins CO, 2.7

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton FL, 2.7

College Station-Bryan TX, 2.6

Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort SC, 2.6

NAPLES-IMMOKALEE-MARCO ISLAND FL, 2.6

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL, 2.6

Raleigh NC, 2.5

St. George UT, 2.5

Charleston SC, 2.4

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land TX, 2.4

Provo-Orem UT, 2.4

---

© 2016 Naples Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.