Each year, the Forecasting and Trends Office (FTO) publishes population estimates and future year projections. The population estimates can be used for a variety of planning studies including statewide and regional transportation plan updates, subarea and corridor studies, and funding allocations for various planning agencies.The 2021 population estimates are based on the population estimates developed by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) at the University of Florida. BEBR uses the decennial census count for April 1, 2020, as the starting point for state-level projections. More information is available from BEBR here.This dataset contains county boundaries in the State of Florida with 2021 population density estimates. All legal boundaries and names in this dataset are from the US Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line Files (2021). Please see the Data Dictionary for more information on data fields. Data Sources:FDOT FTO 2020 and 2021 Population Estimates by CountyUS Census Bureau 2020 Decennial CensusUS Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line Files (2021)Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) – Florida Estimates of Population 2021 Data Coverage: StatewideData Time Period: 2021 Date of Publication: October 2022 Point of Contact:Dana Reiding, ManagerForecasting and Trends OfficeFlorida Department of TransportationDana.Reiding@dot.state.fl.us605 Suwannee Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399850-414-4719

In 2023, Washington, D.C. had the highest population density in the United States, with 11,130.69 people per square mile. As a whole, there were about 94.83 residents per square mile in the U.S., and Alaska was the state with the lowest population density, with 1.29 residents per square mile. The problem of population density Simply put, population density is the population of a country divided by the area of the country. While this can be an interesting measure of how many people live in a country and how large the country is, it does not account for the degree of urbanization, or the share of people who live in urban centers. For example, Russia is the largest country in the world and has a comparatively low population, so its population density is very low. However, much of the country is uninhabited, so cities in Russia are much more densely populated than the rest of the country. Urbanization in the United States While the United States is not very densely populated compared to other countries, its population density has increased significantly over the past few decades. The degree of urbanization has also increased, and well over half of the population lives in urban centers.

A dataset listing Florida counties by population for 2024.

Historically occurring throughout the southeastern United States, the Florida panther is now restricted to less than 5% of its historic range in one breeding population located in southern Florida. Using radio-telemetry data from 87 prime-aged (≥3 years old) adult panthers (35 males and 52 females) during the period 2004 through 2013 (28,720 radio-locations), we analyzed the characteristics of the occupied area and used those attributes in a random forest model to develop a predictive distribution map for resident breeding panthers in southern Florida. Using 10-fold cross validation, the model was 87.5 % accurate in predicting presence or absence of panthers in the 16,678 km2 study area. Analysis of variable importance indicated that the amount of forests and forest edge, hydrology, and human population density were the most important factors determining presence or absence of panthers. Sensitivity analysis showed that the presence of human populations, roads, and agriculture (other than pasture) had strong negative effects on the probability of panther presence. Forest cover and forest edge had strong positive effects. The median model-predicted probability of presence for panther home ranges was 0.81 (0.82 for females and 0.74 for males). The model identified 5579 km2 of suitable breeding habitat remaining in southern Florida; 1399 km2 (25%) of this habitat is in non-protected private ownership. Because there is less panther habitat remaining than previously thought, we recommend that all remaining breeding habitat in south Florida should be maintained, and the current panther range should be expanded into south-central Florida. This model should be useful for evaluating the impacts of future development projects, in prioritizing areas for panther conservation, and in evaluating the potential impacts of sea-level rise and changes in hydrology.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) collected annual trawl data at 27 open-water sites from 1987 to 1991 (Bull et al. 1995). Nearly 37,000 fish were recorded in 438 10-minute open-water trawls (Bull et al. 1995). Seven species accounted for 98% of the total number and total fish biomass. Clustering of sites based on mean catch of the primary species expressed as number and weight produced four distinct groups. The groups were labeled as the northeast shore, northwest shore, south-southwest shore and open water area. Areal fish distribution patterns also were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s HSD post hoc test. Within the four groups there were significant differences in the distribution of certain fish species. In addition to the open-water trawl sites, the FWC has utilized electrofishing techniques to collect annual largemouth bass (Micropterous salmodies) (LMB) data from 22 near-shore and interior marsh locations since 1999 (Havens et al. 2004). Although the trawl and electrofishing data provide some baseline information, still there is limited data regarding temporal changes in the community structure, density and condition of the primary sport fish LMB, black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and redear (Lepomis microlophus) sunfish) and other fish species in Lake Okeechobee. During this study, fish species will be collected from 49 historic sampling locations. Fish assemblages in the 27 open water regions of the lake will be sampled with an Otter Trawl net. The 22 near-shore and interior marsh sites will be sampled utilizing electrofishing gear. Ancillary data, including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, conductivity, and sediment/aquatic plant type will be recorded at the 49 sampling locations.
The two historic sets of non-MAP data will be used to help establish baseline conditions for the near-shore, interior marsh and open-water fishery. It is appropriate to include the non-MAP data in our analysis as current sampling will occur at the historical locations and sampling methods will be similar. We anticipate significant spatial differences in fish abundance and biomass will exist at the near-shore, interior marsh and open water sites. Therefore, similar statistical tests including cluster analysis and analysis of variance should be used to evaluate temporal changes in the near-shore and open water fishery. Detailed statistical analysis should be conducted at a minimum of every three years to evaluate long-term trends and establish relationships between fish distribution, condition, and community structure and environmental conditions including habitat and water depth.
The objectives of this project are to evaluate temporal changes in Lake Okeechobee’s fishery by determining annual changes in the areal distribution, condition, density and community structure (year classes) of all major fish species found in the near-shore, interior marsh and open-water regions of the lake. Ancillary data including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, conductivity, and sediment type also will be recorded.