Census: Florida surpasses NY in population

• Florida added nearly 300,000 new residents between 2013 and 2014
• New York only added 51,000
• North Dakota was the fastest-growing state in the union last year

By Associated Press

Published: 14:03 EST, 23 December 2014 | Updated: 00:26 EST, 24 December 2014

More Americans are forsaking the hustle and bustle of New York for the wacky shore of the Sunshine State.

Florida has overtaken New York as the third most populous state in the United States, the Census Bureau has revealed.

Figures released Tuesday show that Florida has at least 19.9 million residents. The number is likely higher because the Census uses the population as of July 1 to create its estimate.

Hello, sunshine: The Census Bureau announced on Tuesday that Florida had overtaken New York as the third largest US state

New York had 19.7 million residents.

Florida added almost 300,000 new residents from 2013 to 2014, or a little more than 800 new residents a day. By contrast, New York grew by only 51,000 over that time period.

Florida likely reached the milestone sometime last spring, but it wasn't official until the Census said so.

An Associated Press analysis earlier this year showed that ex-New Yorkers represented about 1 in 10 new Florida residents. Migrants from other countries made up about a quarter of Florida's new residents.

Florida has a way to go before it catches up with California and Texas, the largest and second-largest states. California has 38.8 million residents; Texas has 27 million residents.

The other states rounding out the 10 largest in the nation are: Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. North Carolina slipped by Michigan for the ninth spot on the list.

Six states saw population declines: Illinois, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Mexico, Alaska and Vermont.

Fueled by an energy boom, North Dakota was the fastest-growing state in the nation, even though it is still the fourth least-populous state in the union. Its population increased 2.2 percent and now stands at 739,000. The other fastest-growing states from 2013 to 2014 were Nevada and Texas, which both had population increases of 1.7 percent.