Carolyn DiPaolo
Five interesting things we found in the U.S. Census 2023 population estimate released in the spring:
- Palm Beach County grew by nearly 1 percent or almost 14,000 people from July 2022 to July 2023. Since 2020, we’re up about 2.5 percent.
- If you are asked to recite the county’s population, you can confidently estimate it at 1.53 million.
- PBC’s newest city, Westlake, is the county’s fastest-growing by percentage, with a population of 5,999 in 2023, up more than 40% from the year before. Westlake is a Minto housing development expected to top out at 11,000 exurbanites.
- Among larger Palm Beach County municipalities, West Palm Beach saw the most growth, clocking in at 124,130 residents, with 3,198 new neighbors putting out welcome mats since the previous year.
- West Palm Beach’s population has increased more than 5 percent since 2020, most notably downtown, where former Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Raphael Clemente estimates the population has ballooned from 2,500 city dwellers to 10,000.
- Context: The Orchid City doesn’t crack the top 15 most populous cities in Florida.
🕰️ Flashback: As Stet News reported in March, Palm Beach County’s population slipped to No. 4 in Florida behind Miami-Dade, Broward and Hillsborough counties.
➡️ What we’re watching: Riviera Beach. The coastal city added an estimated 1,000 residents since 2020, putting it at 38,663 — No. 11 and just behind Royal Palm Beach.
