Florida will continue to grow by leaps and bounds through the next five years with 900 people coming here each day and more than 300,000 people coming to Sunshine State each year. That’s the equivalent to a city the size of Orlando being created every  year in Florida.

Those latest numbers come from the state’s Demographic Estimating Conference which estimates the state’s total population will top 22 million residents in 2022.

The Estimating Conference released its latest updated population forecasts through April 1, 2024. It shows steady growth during the multi-year period.

“Between April 1, 2018, and April 1, 2024, population growth is expected to average 330,605 net new residents per year (906 per day), representing a compound growth rate of 1.53 percent over this six-year time horizon,” based on conclusions included in the report’s executive summary. “These increases are analogous to adding a city slightly larger than Orlando every year.”

The report estimated the state’s population on April 1, 2018, stood at 20.84 million. That number is expected to jump to 21.2 million on April 1, 2019. It is forecast to hit 22.2 million as of April 1, 2022, and reaching 22.8 million on April 1, 2024.

The report points out that the estimates projected that the state forecasts are lower than population predictions by the U.S. Census Bureau, largely due todifferent methodologies in the way estimates are reached.

The Estimating Conference suggests population increases will primarily stem from “net migration” as people move into the state, as opposed to births.