Florida Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Florida, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Florida. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Florida. The estimated population of Florida is 21,339,762 people, with a median age of 42.3.

We can look at the total population in Florida over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
21,339,762
+0.58%
+5.23%
2020
21,216,924
+1.51%
-
2019
20,901,636
+1.47%
-
2018
20,598,139
+1.58%
-
2017
20,278,447
 - -

Population of Florida by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
52.6%
54.9%
 -4.19%
Black/African American
15.1%
15.4%
 -1.95%
Native
0.1%
0.2%
 -50.00%
Hispanic
26.2%
24.7%
 +6.07%
Asian
2.7%
2.6%
 +3.85%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.7%
1.8%
 +50.00%
Other
0.5%
0.3%
 +66.67%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Florida by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 42.3 +0.24% 40.9 +0.74% 43.6 -0.46%
2020 42.2 +0.48% 40.6 +0.25% 43.8 +0.46%
2019 42 +0.24% 40.5 +0.5% 43.6 +0.23%
2018 41.9 +0.24% 40.3 +0.25% 43.5 +0.46%
2017 41.8 - 40.2 - 43.3 -

The median age of Florida gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 1,139,903 +1.33% 1,092,264 +1.74% 1,155,198 1,111,497
10 to 19 1,207,272 +5.32% 1,147,124 +5.08% 1,272,826 1,206,472
20 to 29 1,344,085 -1.17% 1,290,255 -0.23% 1,327,911 1,287,099
30 to 39 1,236,352 +9.8% 1,241,429 +7.81% 1,362,057 1,341,195
40 to 49 1,273,192 +3.04% 1,303,230 +1.4% 1,312,119 1,321,440
50 to 59 1,352,459 +3.87% 1,450,750 +1.57% 1,405,619 1,473,573
60 to 69 1,153,840 +11% 1,323,225 +8.38% 1,286,063 1,437,599
70+ 1,207,258 +12.72% 1,515,809 +9.97% 1,367,755 1,671,339

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Florida is $61,777.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Florida.

  • Under 25
    $36,500.00
  • 25 to 44
    $66,433.00
  • 45 to 64
    $72,740.00
  • 65 and over
    $49,257.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Florida, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Florida, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Florida is currently $88,267.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

7.30% of households in Florida are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Florida against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    18.38%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    22.35%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.17%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.82%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    14.70%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    6.29%
  • $200,000 or more
    7.30%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Florida is $35,216.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Florida by the total population of Florida.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Florida, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Florida to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    13.49%
  • Bachelor's degree
    32.71%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    10.80%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    39.20%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.80%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Florida that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Florida over the age of 16 is 17,577,024.

Of those people, a total of 59.40% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Florida is 55.90%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 983,255 33.90% 16.60%
20 to 24 years 1,244,479 74.10% 9.10%
25 to 29 years 1,370,531 82.50% 6.10%
30 to 34 years 1,371,911 82.40% 5.00%
35 to 44 years 2,626,930 82.70% 4.50%
45 to 54 years 2,735,230 80.80% 4.10%
55 to 59 years 1,481,932 71.30% 4.00%
60 to 64 years 1,415,791 55.90% 4.00%
65 to 74 years 2,442,673 23.90% 4.30%
75 years and over 1,904,292 6.20% 4.40%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Florida. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 12,243,798 57.20% 4.60%
Black or African American 2,602,854 63.90% 8.10%
American Indian and Alaska Native 44,400 56.20% 7.00%
Asian 499,574 63.30% 4.40%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 10,843 64.90% 6.90%
Other 675,410 65.30% 5.70%
Two or more races 1,500,145 66.60% 6.10%
Hispanic or Latino 4,426,882 66.80% 5.10%
Not Hispanic or Latino 9,675,924 54.60% 4.60%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Florida as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Florida is 9,824,911, with median earnings of $36,662.00.

Women in Florida earning approximately 78.10% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 9,824,911 $36,662.00
Male 5,147,411 $41,347.00
Female 4,677,500 $32,307.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,059,909 $67,093.00
Business and Financial 525,444 $58,751.00
Computer and Mathematical 268,965 $72,894.00
Architecture and Engineering 150,162 $76,866.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 62,928 $53,192.00
Community and Social Service 141,702 $41,894.00
Legal 129,935 $67,572.00
Educational and Library 503,614 $42,149.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 187,912 $36,951.00
Healthcare Practitioners 636,015 $57,778.00
Healthcare Support 290,718 $26,644.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 138,191 $32,188.00
Law Enforcement 97,533 $55,007.00
Food Preparation and Serving 612,680 $18,967.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 447,124 $21,869.00
Personal Care and Service 282,120 $20,445.00
Sales 1,151,265 $31,685.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,191,217 $32,101.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 47,119 $21,111.00
Construction and Extraction 538,567 $33,921.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 325,756 $41,374.00
Production 319,389 $32,321.00
Transportation and Material Moving 406,638 $34,048.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 631,632 $76,519.00 428,277 $57,374.00
Business and Financial 244,369 $68,084.00 281,075 $53,493.00
Computer and Mathematical 200,091 $76,798.00 68,874 $60,802.00
Architecture and Engineering 128,117 $78,748.00 22,045 $68,528.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 30,309 $55,752.00 32,619 $50,384.00
Community and Social Service 48,770 $43,109.00 92,932 $41,417.00
Legal 56,933 $106,067.00 73,002 $56,416.00
Educational and Library 128,981 $47,862.00 374,633 $40,164.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 101,180 $42,103.00 86,732 $32,439.00
Healthcare Practitioners 175,761 $74,453.00 460,254 $53,902.00
Healthcare Support 40,493 $29,586.00 250,225 $26,303.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 101,912 $35,495.00 36,279 $26,186.00
Law Enforcement 73,533 $59,372.00 24,000 $46,153.00
Food Preparation and Serving 294,683 $21,040.00 317,997 $17,169.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 252,355 $26,098.00 194,769 $17,735.00
Personal Care and Service 86,363 $21,747.00 195,757 $19,808.00
Sales 575,839 $42,039.00 575,426 $23,738.00
Office and Administrative Support 316,599 $33,715.00 874,618 $31,679.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 33,773 $23,562.00 13,346 $16,219.00
Construction and Extraction 515,885 $34,156.00 22,682 $26,670.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 313,234 $41,597.00 12,522 $33,676.00
Production 221,500 $37,488.00 97,889 $23,889.00
Transportation and Material Moving 343,283 $36,302.00 63,355 $26,072.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 8,157,420 households in Florida, with an average household size of 2.57 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 5,274,491 families in Florida with an average family size of 3.16 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 3,815,705 414,023 1,044,763 2,882,929
Average Household Size 3.15 3.46 3.6 1.29
Total Families 3,815,705 414,023 1,044,763 0
Average Household Size 3.12 3.04 3.35 0

Poverty

Of the 5,274,491 families in Florida, 9.30% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Florida:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 9,764,897 housing units in Florida.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 8,157,420 83.54%
Vacant 1,607,477 16.46%

26.89% of the total 9,764,897 housing units in Florida are rental units. This is approximately 2,626,119 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 5,420,631 are occupied by the owner - or 55.51% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Florida is $1,301.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Florida that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    110,670
  • Less than $500
    118,647
  • $500 to $999
    561,720
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,011,982
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    597,492
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    210,922
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    67,132
  • $3,000 or more
    58,224

Property Value

The median value of a property in Florida is $248,700.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Florida that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    332,968
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    435,202
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    516,851
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    729,635
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,365,688
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,338,241
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    544,701
  • $1,000,000 or more
    157,345

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Florida. The chart below shows the number of properties in Florida that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    202,182
  • 1940 to 1949
    188,288
  • 1950 to 1959
    673,306
  • 1960 to 1969
    845,308
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,666,513
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,940,031
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,601,799
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,799,525
  • 2010 to 2013
    817,835
  • 2014 or later
    30,110

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Florida that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    489,117
  • 1 vehicle available
    3,165,111
  • 2 vehicles available
    3,135,132
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,368,060

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Florida get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Florida that commute to work in a particular way.

27.9 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Florida.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    158,980
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    616,943
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    983,090
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,287,350
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,355,759
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    605,100
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,472,000
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    304,576
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    394,905
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    823,895
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    529,654
  • 90 or more minutes
    208,923

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Florida in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Counties in Florida

We have data for 67 counties in Florida. Click on a county below to see more information about the demographics of that county, with links to cities and towns within that county.

Zip Codes in Florida

If you want to find out more about the population and demographics of specific zip codes in Florida, click on the links below.