Carolyn DiPaoloThe U.S. Census estimates Palm Beach County’s population is nearly 1.6 million.
Nearly 90,000 people have moved to Palm Beach County since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U.S. Census estimates released this month.
⏰ Why it matters: That’s like adding more people since July 1, 2020, than live in Boynton Beach (population 81,000).
🌅 At the dawn of the pandemic, we thought of ourselves as a county of 1.5 million people.
- Now nearly 1.6 million call Palm Beach County home.
💥 The Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach metropolitan area was the fourth-fastest-growing metro in the United States from 2023 to 2024, the census estimates.
- The region grew by about 123,000 people to 6.46 million.
- That puts us behind only New York, Houston and Dallas metros when it comes to population increase.
👀 How the neighbors are doing: Miami-Dade County’s estimated population on July 1, 2024, was 2.8 million.
- Broward clocked in at 2 million.
- Martin County, 166,000.
- St. Lucie County, 390,000.
🥊 About that population rivalry between Hillsborough and Palm Beach County for the state’s No. 3 ranking behind Miami-Dade and Broward: It’s wicked close.
- The Census Bureau estimates the west coast home county of Tampa has a population of 1,581,426. That’s just 629 fewer than PBC.
I am a co-founder, writer and editor for Stet News. I am also a former senior editor at The Palm Beach Post. For 20 years, I oversaw some of the most consequential stories published by the paper, including the “Corruption County” reporting project that led to multiple arrests of elected officials. I am a member of the Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2013. I live in West Palm Beach with my husband, Bill DiPaolo.
