[OC] Post-Pandemic Population Growth Trends, by US Metro Area (2022->2024)

[u/TA-MajestyPalm]

Graphic by me, created in Excel. All data from US Census here: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html

I've created similar graphics in the past, but usually from 2020-2024. This is not the best time frame as it combines the abnormal covid years with post pandemic movement.

This time frame (2022-2024) shows the most current and ongoing population trends of the last 2 years.

I also wanted to better categorize the cities into broad cultural regions vs the arbitrary geographic census regions.

[u/micron970]

Why are so many people moving to Florida? Is it just old people?

[u/Lycid → u/micron970]

Cheap, warm weather, all the amenities you could want out of a highly developed area, friendly to suburbanites leaving their dreary northern suburbs, if you want night life and the vibe of NYC, Miami is right there, disney world is self explanatory, all the beaches are right there, etc.

If you remove the long term doom of the entire state Florida looks awfully appealing to move to if you're living in an Ohio suburb or wherever. It's basically been a vacation destination for 100 years and unlike most vacation destinations on earth it hasn't suffered a massive cost of living burden (yet).

Yes it's all a climate change house of cards, the people suck, the politics suck, the humidity sucks, the bugs suck, but if all you really care about is maintaining you exact standard of living but with much better weather (outside of hurricanes) and easy weekend vacation opportunities it checks the box. Besides Florida being underwater is a problem at the end of this century. Still got a whole life before that starts actually becoming a problem and by that time people will have long moved away.

[u/Eudaimonics → u/micron970]

There’s a record number of wealthy retirees who are sick of winter and sold themselves on the notion of a paradise.