The Fastest Growing City In Florida May Surprise You

Author Jen Glorioso

July 13th, 2023 4:34 PM

It’s no secret that Florida is one of the most popular states that people are moving to. In fact, only one state has been deemed more desirable than Florida. But what’s the fastest growing city in Florida? Many will probably guess it’s in the Tampa Bay area. It’s a safe bet since we have so many great things to brag about. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of living in a central location with some of the best beaches in the country, competitive and fun-to-watch sports teams, a booming food scene, and plenty of other recreational activities.

GoBankingRates.com put together a list of all of the “boomtowns”, or the fastest growing cities, in each state. We’ll spoil ahead and tell you that Tampa or St. Pete was NOT the fastest growing city in Florida. Despite the increase in traffic and housing units being built all around the area. GoBankingRates put together this list by analyzing all U.S. cities with a population of under 500,000 and evaluated them based on: One-year and five-year change in total population, five-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes, and change in per capita income. Click here to read more about their methodology.

So what is the fastest growing city in Florida?

According to this study, the fastest growing city in Florida is near the Orlando area. Horizon West have seen the biggest changes in population over the past 8 years (255%). Home owner housing units have gone up 261% over the past 8 years. Even though this area is a stone-throw away to the biggest theme parks in Florida, they pride themselves on living a “village-centric” lifestyle. Families probably love having the best of both worlds with the “feel” of a smaller town, but live so close to big city attractions.

Jen was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. She’s been with Beasley Media Group since 2022. In her spare time, you can find her at Tampa Bay Lightning games, Tampa Bay breweries, or the beach. Catch up on Jen’s content about the highest-rated restaurants/bars in Tampa, things-to-do around the area, and upcoming concerts.

7 Florida Slang Words and Sayings You Probably Use Everyday

Florida has been known to always have it’s own culture, and that includes language. It’s not quite like other southern states where they use quirky southern phrases, but completely made up slang words that only make sense in the Sunshine State. Lets take a look at some of our favorite Florida slang words.

Like we said, Florida is like it’s own world. Meaning we operate differently than folks in other states. Thunderstorms and hurricanes don’t scare us, but a broken AC unit is our worst nightmare. We found a great website that dives deeper in slang terms by region. Letslearnslang.com has a list of 35 slang words and phrases that are specifically unique to Florida. Check out their full list here.

One thing to understand about the Florida language is simply how we say “yes” and “no”. When Floridians say “yeah, no” that means no. And when we say “no, yeah” that actually means yes. If you ever hear “yeah no, for sure” that means definitely. We’ll admit, there were some words and phrases on the list that we’ve never heard before. For example “wicked up” is a phrase used for when someone gets too intoxicated. But we’ve never heard anyone in Florida say that before. It could be a regional thing, since the state is so massive. Any missing words or phrases that you think we should include? Let us know on social media!

Here are 7 Florida slang words and phrases you probably use every day:

Bussin'
Meaning: An adjective to describe something that’s really good

“This Chick-fil-A is bussin'”
Skeeter
This is probably more of a southern’ term than mainly Florida, but it is used a lot here. Skeeter = mosquito. Plus, if you type “skeeter” on your iPhone, the emoji will pop up!
Jit
This word is normally used to describe a young person (and normally said by a young person). It could also mean “Juvenile In Training”.

“No one likes to hang out with that jit.”

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No See 'Ums
This must be one of those southern phrases we’ve never heard! But apparently it applies to small insects that you can’t really see that bite you, they’re technically known as Ceratopogonidae. You know, they’re all over the swamplands of Florida.

“Those no see ‘ums are eating me up tonight”
Sun Shower
Every Floridian is familiar with sun showers, especially during the summer time. Another Florida/southern saying to describe sun showers was “the devil is beating his wife”
Pub Sub
Alright, this is one EVERY Floridian should know! We all have our favorite Pub Sub order and are always on the lookout for the chicken tender subs to go on sale at Publix.

BBGI
Snowbirds/Raisins
Probably the most common Florida slang, next to Pub Sub. We all know snowbirds are the northern folk who flock down here during winter.

Raisins are what Floridians call snowbirds who have been in the sun too long.