If it feels like there are more cars on I-95 and the lines at Publix are getting longer, you’re not wrong. Our beloved Jacksonville is officially one of the hottest tickets in the nation, and the U.S. Census Bureau just dropped the receipts to prove it.
🆕 Cities of all sizes grew on average from 2023 to 2024 with Southern and Western cities experiencing accelerated growth, according to new #PopulationEstimates.
— U.S. Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau) May 15, 2025
Explore more #CensusData highlights. https://t.co/UEb5cQfvCF#PopEstimates pic.twitter.com/J7FqfgVbi6
According to their latest estimates, Jacksonville added a whopping 16k new residents between July 2023 and July 2024. That’s like a whole small town deciding, “Yeah, JAX is where it’s at!”
| Rank | Area Name | State Name | Numeric Increase | 2024 Total Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York city | New York | 87,184 | 8,478,072 |
| 2 | Houston city | Texas | 43,217 | 2,390,125 |
| 3 | Los Angeles city | California | 31,276 | 3,878,704 |
| 4 | San Antonio city | Texas | 23,945 | 1,526,656 |
| 5 | Fort Worth city | Texas | 23,442 | 1,008,106 |
| 6 | Charlotte city | North Carolina | 23,423 | 943,476 |
| 7 | Chicago city | Illinois | 22,164 | 2,721,308 |
| 8 | Phoenix city | Arizona | 16,933 | 1,673,164 |
| 9 | Seattle city | Washington | 16,813 | 780,995 |
| 10 | Jacksonville city | Florida | 16,365 | 1,009,833 |
| 11 | Miami city | Florida | 16,337 | 487,014 |
| 12 | Washington city | District of Columbia | 14,926 | 702,250 |
| 13 | San Jose city | California | 13,634 | 997,368 |
| 14 | Columbus city | Ohio | 12,694 | 933,263 |
| 15 | Las Vegas city | Nevada | 12,292 | 678,922 |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates | ||||
| Release Date: May 2025 | ||||
This surge brings our official population to a mighty 1,009,833. This influx of good taste (and probably people fleeing colder climates) has landed us at #10 in the entire country for the largest numeric increase in population. That’s right, we’re out here growing faster than Big John Henderson’s appetite after a pre-game warmup in 2007.
John Henderson's pre-game routine is why #ThrowbackThursday was invented. https://t.co/CNW8XmFul4 pic.twitter.com/0snJn9IzIL
— Big Cat Country (@BigCatCountry) June 1, 2017
It seems the South, in general, is where everyone wants to be. The Census Bureau data found here, shows that half of the top 10, and the majority of the top 15 locations are all in the southern states.
