When the COVID-19 pandemic began and remote work became more common, many people moved away from city centers to the surrounding suburbs. However, in recent years, Americans have been drawn even further out to exurbs located up to 60 miles outside of city centers. According to Fast Company, these regions of the U.S. have reported the highest population growth during the past decade. This is largely due to their affordability and the availability of land for housing development.
These rapidly growing communities are mostly in the South, such as Anna, Texas, an exurb of Dallas; Fort Mill, S.C., which is an exurb of Charlotte, N.C.; and Polk County, which is located between Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, Fla. In fact, Polk County—a traditionally more rural area known for its citrus groves—saw its population grow by 30,000 people just last year.
Recent hurricanes and citrus diseases in Florida also have made it more attractive for some Polk County growers to sell their citrus groves to developers who build new residences or stores.
Over the past decade, citrus-growing there declined from 81,800 acres (33,103 hectares) and almost 10 million trees in 2014 to 58,500 acres (23,674 hectares) and 8.5 million trees in 2024, according to federal agricultural statistics. Read more