FORT LAUDERDALE — Cruise up coastal highway A1A. Take in the sea breeze, the sand and surf shimmering in the sun, the palm trees swaying beside luxury high-rise hotels, shops and cafes. The idyllic image helps explain why millions have come to Florida to play, and millions have come back to stay.

MANATEE — Manatee County has become slightly younger, a little more masculine, more racially diverse and a lot more Hispanic so far this decade, according to Census estimates to be released today.

The county’s Hispanic and Asian populations have nearly doubled, its median age has fallen by a few months and males narrowed their numerical gap with females between 2000 and mid-2008, the figures show.

The Census’ July 1, 2008, statistical snapshot of Manatee largely mirrored Florida, which has steadily become more ethnically and racially diverse, demographers said.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The economic recession has cast a shadow over growth in the Sunshine State, according to the latest population projections from the University of Florida, which see Florida’s population increases plunging to their lowest level in 60 years and some counties actually shrinking.

LAKELAND | The financial crises over the last year and a half and the housing market drying up like crocus on the desert floor has had an impact on Polk County's population growth - six municipalities lost population in the last year.

While the county's population has increased by 21 percent since the U.S. Census Bureau's once-every-decade census in 2000, compared to Florida's rate of 17.7 percent, the gains were made during the first seven years.

State populations in the United States are characterized by large differences in current growth rates and historical growth trends. What demographic factors account for these differences? Population growth has only three components: births, deaths, and migration. In this study, we estimated the contributions of births, deaths, and migration to changes in population size between 1950 and 1980 for the 48 contiguous states in the United States.

In less than a lifetime, from 1945 to 2008, Florida went from being the smallest state in the South to the fourth largest and one of the most complex states in the nation. Today, Florida has the largest percentage of seniors in the nation, and it has become a testing ground in the United States for the ways in which multiple generations live and work alongside one another. This essay discusses the emergence of this important demographic development and what it means for Florida and its citizens.

Cedar Rapids, Ia. - This city's future is riding on people like Stella Wilson, and national experts say there is reason for hope.

Wilson is among more than 25,000 Cedar Rapids residents who were forced from their homes this month by historic flooding. That's a fifth of the city's population, and it leaves leaders worrying about how many will pull up stakes.

Stanley Smith, a University of Florida economics professor who studies population trends, said natural disasters tend to cause short-term population losses, but they can be reversed.