2020 and 2021 Population Estimates by Urbanized Area

Each year, the Forecasting and Trends Office (FTO) publishes population estimates and future year projections. The population estimates can be used for a variety of planning studies including statewide and regional transportation plan updates, subarea and corridor studies, and funding allocations for various planning agencies. The 2020 population estimates reported are based on the US Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census. The 2021 population estimates are based on the population estimates developed by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) at the University of Florida. BEBR uses the decennial census count for April 1, 2020, as the starting point for state-level projections. More information is available from BEBR here. This dataset contains boundaries for all 2010 Census Urbanized Areas (UAs) in the State of Florida with 2020 census population and 2021 population estimates. All legal boundaries and names in this dataset are from the US Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line Files (2021). BEBR provides 2021 population estimates for counties in Florida. However, UA boundaries may not coincide with the jurisdictional boundaries of counties and UAs often spread into several counties. To estimate the population for an UA, first the ratio of the subject UA that is contained within a county (or sub-area) to the area of the entire county was determined. That ratio was multiplied by the estimated county population to obtain the population for that sub-area. The population for the entire UA is the sum of all sub-area populations estimated from the counties they are located within. For the 2010 Census, urban areas comprised a “densely settled core of census tracts and/or census blocks that meet minimum population density requirements, along with adjacent territory containing non-residential urban land uses as well as territory with low population density included to link outlying densely settled territory with the densely settled core.” In 2010, the US Census Bureau identified two types of urban areas—UAs and Urban Clusters (UCs). UAs have a population of 50,000 or more people. Note: Pensacola, FL--AL Urbanized Area is located in two states: Florida (Escambia County and Santa Rosa County) and Alabama (Baldwin County). 2021 population of Baldwin County, AL used for this estimation is from the US Census annual population estimates (2020-2021). All other Urbanized Areas are located entirely within the state of Florida. Please see the Data Dictionary for more information on data fields. Data Sources: US Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census US Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line Files (2021) Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) – Florida Estimates of Population 2021 Data Coverage: Statewide Data Time Period: 2020 – 2021 Date of Publication: July 2022 Point of Contact: Dana Reiding, Manager Forecasting and Trends Office Florida Department of Transportation [e-mail] 605 Suwannee Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399 850-414-4719