Ocala and Homosassa Springs, two communities located in Florida, have the fastest-growing Latino populations in all metropolitan areas in the United States, according to new estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data, highlighting differences in growth between the U.S. Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations from 2022 to 2023, reflected a tie between both Floridian communities at the top of the ranking of metropolitan areas with at least 10,000 Hispanic residents.
Both Ocala and Homosassa Springs saw its Latino population increase by 9.3%. At the national level, Latinos accounted for nearly 71% of all population growth in the United during the same time period. There were over 65 million Hispanic individuals in the U.S., or 19.5% of the total population, last year.
The report also revealed that although approximately one-third of the overall net gain in the Latino population can be attributed to international migration, the largest increase was due to natural causes, with 722,000 more births than deaths recorded during that period.
When it comes to the different states, Florida was second overall with the largest numeric increases in Latinos: 191,373 individuals, approximately 50,000 less than Texas (242,306).
The growth in Ocala's Hispanic population mirrors the city and county's overall population trends in recent years. Earlier this year, the Bureau reported that Marion County had the ninth-highest net domestic migration among 3,144 counties in the United States in 2023 adding over 15,000 residents at a rate more than ten times higher than the national average.
What's more, Marion County officials have said that the uptick is is also bringing in more cash to the area. Florida's WCJB reports that the county is close to seeing the numbers they ended 2023 with, and they plan to use those funds to make the area even more attractive to tourists.
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