Florida will pass New York as the nation's third most populous state by 2011, according to the latest government projections.

The Census Bureau expects the Sunshine State to gain 12 million new residents over the first three decades of the new millennium. Fourteen Florida counties are already among the 100 fastest growing jurisdictions in the country, the agency said in another release.

With California and Texas also projected to grow by 12 million people each between 2000 and 2030, the three states will account for nearly half -- 46 percent -- of the country's total population growth during the 30-year period, Census estimates.

Arizona, projected to add 5.6 million people, and North Carolina, with a gain of 4.2 million, will round out the top five gainers, moving the two states onto the list of the 10 most populous states by 2030 -- Arizona to 10th and Carolina to seventh -- knocking Michigan and New Jersey off the list.

At the beginning of the century, Arizona was the 20th most populated states and Carolina was 11th.

On a percentage basis, the top five fastest-growing states will be Nevada (114 percent), Arizona (109 percent), Florida (80 percent), Texas (60 percent) and Utah (56 percent).

On a county-by-county basis, meanwhile, Flagler on Florida's East Coast was the fastest growing between July 2003 and July 2004. Located between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Flagler experienced a 10.1 percent population increase during the 120-month period, Census reported.

Florida led all states with 14 of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, including the ninth fastest, St. Johns, the next county north of Flagler, which saw its population grow by 6.7 percent.

Half of the remaining ten fastest growers were located in either the South or West: Loudoun, Va., near Washington, D.C., ranked third in growth with a rate of 8.1 percent; Lampasas, Texas, north of Austin, sixth with 7.3 percent; Lyon, Nev., near Carson City, seventh at 7.2 percent; and Camden, N.C., south of Norfolk, Va., eighth at 7.2 percent.

Four of the other five were in the Midwest: Kendall, Ill., in the Chicago area, second at 8.3 percent; Hanson and Lincoln, S.D., both near Sioux Falls, fourth and fifth, respectively, at 7.9 percent and 7.5 percent; and Dallas, Iowa, west of Des Moines, 10th at 6.6 percent.

The largest numerical gainer over the 2003-2004 period was Maricopa (Phoenix), Ariz., which added 112,000 new residents. Although it is not on the list of quick gainers, Los Angeles remains the country's most populous county with 9.9 million residents.

Maricopa, Los Angeles and Harris (Houston) County, Texas, were the only ones on the top ten list in terms of both population and numerical increases. Here are some other highlights of the Census Bureau's latest counts:

• Of the 100 fastest-growing counties, none were in the Northeast. Sixty were in the South, 23 in the West and 17 in the Midwest.

• Georgia, Texas, and Virginia were the only other states with at least 10 counties among the 100 fastest growing. But 21 did not have any counties on the list.

• California had the most counties among the 100 most populous, followed by New York, Texas, and Florida. But 20 states did not have any on that list.

Into the future, Census now believes 88 percent of the country's growth will occur in the South and West.

By 2030, the share of the population living in those two regions will rise from 58 percent to 65 percent, the agency projects. At the same time, the share of people living in the Northeast and Midwest will fall from 42 percent to 35 percent.

In another interesting prognostication, the government says 10 states will have more people age 65 or older than people under 18. They are: Florida, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. At the turn of the century, every state had more people under 18 than 65 or more.

Moreover, as the oldest baby boomers become senior citizens in 2011, the country's population that is 65 and older is projected to grow faster than the total population in every state. In fact, 26 states are projected to double their 65-and-older population between 2000 and 2030.

Published: May 4, 2005

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.