over the past five years in Palm Beach County than areas outside municipal boundaries, with Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Westlake leading the charge.
The county鈥檚 largest city, West Palm Beach, added the most people since the 2020 U.S. Census, with 9,529 more residents, annual estimates released in October by the show.
The continued growth is a tribute to all the city has to offer and helps to meet the needs of a diverse population that draws a huge influx of commuters into its downtown every day, said Assistant City Administrator Armando Fana.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little town with big-town amenities,鈥� he told Stet News, adding, 鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly better to be on the uptick of population growth than the opposite, which is decline.鈥�
The increase brings West Palm鈥檚 estimated population to 126,944 as of April 1, 2025. That鈥檚 in contrast to the county鈥檚 next-largest city, Boca Raton, which added just 3,475 people to reach 100,897.
Still, cities grew at a faster pace over the past five years, 4.7%, than areas in unincorporated Palm Beach County, which grew at a 3.7% pace, the estimates show.
鈥淲hat we have in is, if you build it, people move into it. If you don鈥檛 build it, people don鈥檛 move into it,鈥� county Zoning Director Lisa Amara said. 鈥淭he county is conservative about adding units but cities, particularly the downtowns, they鈥檙e going crazy.鈥�
Overall, the county grew to 1.55 million residents, adding nearly 64,000 residents since 2020, a rate of 4.3%.
The state grew by 8.5% to 23.3 million.
The do not rely solely on U.S. Census Bureau data and analysis of building permits but a sophisticated formula that tracks electrical hookups from the state鈥檚 53 power companies to account for permanent residents and deduct seasonal visitors.
The state relies on the estimates for budgeting and revenue sharing.
Gardens growth doubles Delray, Boynton
While Boca is growing slower than West Palm Beach, it has grown at a 3.5% pace since 2020, adding 337 people since last year.
The next two largest cities in the county, Boynton Beach, 82,937; and Delray Beach, 69,038, have grown just 3.2% since 2020.
Port St. Lucie, which has become an affordable suburban landing spot for many Palm Beach County workers, rose by 27% to 260,194. St. Lucie County went up 20% to 394,074.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach County鈥檚 fifth biggest city, , has grown 9% to 64,547. Gardens added more people over the past five years, 5,365, than Boynton and Delray combined.
Only three cities grew at a faster pace than Gardens since 2020: the tiny , 11% to 284 people; 18% to 2,530; and , a developer鈥檚 city that registered just 906 people in the 2020 U.S. Census but now has grown to 6,685, a whopping 637% growth rate.
Westlake鈥檚 growth is not unexpected. Builder Minto Homes for 4,546 residential units at the 3,800-acre former Callery-Judge citrus grove along Seminole Pratt Whitney Road in The Acreage in 2014 and in 2016. Now, are rising at a rapid pace.
anticipate Westlake reaching a population of 14,656 by 2050. That would make it about the same size in 2050 as North Palm Beach or Lantana, midway in the population ranks among the county鈥檚 39 cities.
The projections anticipate the county with 1.8 million people in 2050 and its largest city, West Palm Beach, at 156,600.
For Mangonia Park, which sits along 45th Street and Australian Avenue on West Palm Beach鈥檚 northern boundary, the rapid growth can be traced to a single townhome project, , which added 162 homes in 2022, Town Manager Ken Metcalf said.
Still to come some day for Mangonia is development of Don King鈥檚 jai-alai fronton, 52 prime acres on 45th Street at the CSX railroad tracks, that has been . Lenders .
Gardens growth has been fueled by city code changes to allow more intense development in the city鈥檚 core near The Gardens Mall and the Florida East Coast Railway tracks and continued construction of new homes in the Alton and Avenir developments.
Some cities lost population
Despite the growth throughout most of the county, 13 cities have lost population since 2020, the estimates show. The losses didn鈥檛 amount to many people: just 268 fewer people in the 13 cities.
They were: Atlantis, Briny Breezes, Glen Ridge, Highland Beach, Hypoluxo, Lake Clarke Shores, Manalapan, North Palm Beach, Ocean Ridge, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Shores, South Palm Beach and Tequesta.
Three other cities 鈥� Cloud Lake, Gulf Stream and Jupiter Inlet Colony 鈥� each gained fewer than five residents over the five years.
And while Palm Beach Gardens continues its growth in north county, Jupiter growth slowed to just 0.3% over five years. In 2020, Jupiter had 1,865 more residents than Palm Beach Gardens. Now it has 3,301 fewer.
That鈥檚 not necessarily a bad thing, said Jupiter Mayor Jim Kuretski, who has served on the Town Council for 25 years. It鈥檚 by design, he said, with residents consistently opposing growth in town surveys and supporting preservation land buys at the ballot box.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been our intention, to keep ourselves uniquely Jupiter,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to become like those to the south. It鈥檚 fine for them. We don鈥檛 want it in Jupiter.鈥�
This story was originally published by , a SA国际传谋 News partner.
