Latinos grew more than any other ethnic group in central Florida according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. As a whole, the ethnic Latino category—which includes people who identify as Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Mexican—grew more than 20 percent in central Florida from 2010 to 2015.The percentage of central Floridians who identify as black and Asian also grew, meaning that the overall growth in the number of people of color in central Florida outpaced whites. Data show the percentage of people identifying as white, non-Latino decreased.
“When you look at the white population, it tends to be much older on average,” said Stefan Rayer, Ph.D., Program Director for the Bureau for Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida. He attributed the demographic changes to the high mortality of white residents across the region. “The white population often also has lower birthrates than the black or Hispanic or Latino populations,” he added.
While a stream of younger residents of color—namely Puerto Rican migrants—drove population growth in Orange and Osceola counties, coastal counties saw a significant spike in older white residents.
“Places like Volusia and Brevard tend to get a lot of retirement migration, which is not exclusively, but mostly white,” said Rayer.
Overall, the population statewide increased and as now on pace with pre-recession figures.