Southwest Florida is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, with Lee and Charlotte counties ranking in the top 10 of the fastest-growing metro areas, according to the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Lee County grew 3.3 percent. That ties Lee for the third-largest increase in the nation, along with Midland and Odessa, Texas, and is almost double Florida’s 1.8 percent growth rate over that same time span. In 2013-14, Lee was ranked sixth, adding 18,177 people for a 2.7 percent population increase.