Flagler County Population Today Likely Exceeds 121,000

The Census Bureau yesterday reported its annual census estimate of county populations. Flagler’s is 118,451 residents as of July 1, 2020. Ten months later, it has likely risen above 121,000.

PALM COAST, FL – May 5, 2021 – The US Census Bureau yesterday reported its annual census estimate of county populations. The latest estimate for Flagler County is 118,451 residents as of July 1, 2020, a 2.73% increase. Ten months later, the population count has likely risen above 121,000.

The population estimates are based on projected growth since the 2010 census and do not include input from the recently completed 2020 census. Each year, the bureau fine-tunes the prior year’s estimates. For example, today’s estimated July 1, 2019 population jumped last year’s estimate from 115,081 to 115,481.

While age demographics have yet to be reported, the ratio of estimated 840 births to 1,650 deaths between July 1, 2019, and July 1, 2020 hints that the county’s age-heavy population trend continues.

New single-family and duplex building permits are an early indicator of future population growth. 1,260 new single-family and duplex living units were permitted between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019. Between July 1, 2019, and July 1, 2020, there were 1,516 units permitted, an increase of 20.3% over the previous year.

For the ten months of July 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, 2,061 units have been permitted marking a 66.1% increase over the same ten months one year ago. The expanded growth since June 2020 has certainly taken Flagler’s population over the 121,000 mark.

How have our neighboring counties fared? The most recent estimates of the July 1, 2020 population represented a mere 0.68% growth for Putnam County. Volusia and St Johns counties grew 1.34% and 5.15% respectively.

The ten-year look at growth from 2010 to 2020 at the state level shows Florida growing by 14.6% for the most recent decade, well above the U.S. overall growth rate of 7.4%. Locally, St John County led the group with a 45.72% growth rate over the decade. Flagler followed with 23.3% growth, Volusia with 13.56%, and Putnam with 0.7% growth.

City and municipal population estimates will be announced soon.