The Steady cCimb of Miami-Dade’s Population
As much as it feels like Miami’s population growth has exploded in recent years, this FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) chart of population growth in Miami-Dade County since 1970 tells a different story. In fact, population growth in the county has been fairly steady, as evidenced by the straightness of the plotted population line. What’s more, considered in a logarithmic manner, growth has steadily slowed, as nominal growth in later years is increasingly less of a percentage of the increasingly larger prior period population.
Surprised? Yeah, me too.
What likely feels like rapid recent growth is the urbanization we are experiencing at this level of population and density. For an example, look no farther than the video the Downtown Development Authority created showing anticipated changes to the city of Miami’s skyline in the near future. Miami has long had more of a big city feel than its population warranted. Now, as the city gets bigger and more dense, its big city reputation has more cred.