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The 2020 Census showed the three big South Florida counties kept growing over 10 years, but growth lags the rest of the state, which grew 14.6% and the total U.S. population grew 7.4%.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are still the three largest in the state, but that isn’t going to last, and may even have changed. Miami-Dade is the state’s most populous county, with 2.7 million residents, and Broward is firmly in second place, with 1.9 million residents, and Palm Beach County is, officially, in third place, with 1.5 million people.
But even that growth rate lags two other large Florida counties, Hillsborough County (which includes Tampa), had 1,459,762 people, and grew at a much faster rate, 18.8%. Orange County (which includes Orlando), had 1,429,908, which was just 29,864 behind Hillsborough.
The Census Bureau reported:
Broward had 1,616.6 people per square mile.
Orange County had 1,585.2 people per square mile.
Hillsborough, 1,428.5 people per square mile.
Miami-Dade, 1,422.1 people per square mile.
Palm Beach County, 759.7 people per square mile.
Tiny Liberty County had just 9.5 people per square mile.