The Big Guava is really growing on folks.
Tampa had Florida's fourth-highest population growth from 2010 to 2012, according to a report released this month by the Florida League of Cities. The State of the Cities report includes data from more than 80 percent of Florida's municipalities, from city budgets to the number of first responders to economic development initiatives.
"The purpose (of the survey) is to learn more about the cities and to help them," said Monica Beyrouti, research analyst for the FLC's Center for Municipal Research and Innovation, which sent the electronic survey to all 410 Florida municipalities. "We get a lot of questions from different municipalities -- best practices, how are other cities the same size as them operating."
In other words, the survey is a way for cities to make sure they're keeping up with the Joneses.
Populationwise, Tampa's keeping up pretty well. Here's a list of Florida's fastest-growing cities from 2010 to 2010:
- Miami grew by 15,243, from 399,508 to 414,751.
- Orlando grew by 7,102, from 238,300 to 245,402.
- Sweetwater (in Miami-Dade County) grew by 6,464, from 13,499 to 19,630.
- Tampa grew by 6,062, from 335,709 to 341,771.
- Cape Coral grew by 5,879, from 154,305 to 160,184.
The survey didn't specify how much of Tampa's growth came from other Florida cities, versus residents who moved here from out of state.
