HAINES CITY, Fla. — Not long ago, Polk County’s biggest draw was citrus fruits rather than people. Located between Tampa and Orlando, Florida’s citrus capital produces more cases of citrus than any other county in the state and has dedicated tens of thousands of acres to growing millions of trees.

But last year, more people moved to this county than any other county in the United States, nearly 30,000.

Citrus groves bulldozed in recent years have made way for housing and big-box stores that could one day merge the two metropolitan areas into what has been jokingly dubbed “Orlampa.”

The migration – and homeownership sprawl – reflects an important type of growth seen across the country this decade: the rise of isolated suburbs.

Outlying communities on the outskirts of metropolitan areas — some as far as 60 miles from the center of a city — had some of the fastest-growing populations last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These communities are primarily in the South, such as Anna, on the outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area; Fort Mill, South Carolina, outside Charlotte, North Carolina; Lebanon outside Nashville; and Haines City, in Polk County.

For some residents, like Marisol Ortega, the commute to work can take up to an hour and a half one way. But Ortega, who lives in Haines City, about 40 miles from his job in Orlando, says it’s worth it.

“I love my job. I love what I do, but I also love coming home and it’s quieter,” Ortega said.

The rapid growth of outer suburbs is a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Census Bureau, as rising housing costs have kept people away from cities and remote work has allowed many to do their jobs from home. home for at least part of the time. the week.

Polk County’s Latino population has grown from a fifth to more than a quarter of the total over the past five years, driven by Puerto Rican migration from the island after Hurricane Maria in 2017, then from New York during the pandemic.

The share of non-Latino white residents fell from 61% to 54%, and the county became more educated and wealthier, according to the Census Bureau. Despite the influx of new people, the county’s Republican leanings have remained relatively unchanged.

Yeseria Suero and her family moved from New York to Polk County at the beginning of the decade after falling in love with the pace of life and affordability during a visit. There were still some cultural adjustments: restaurants closed early, barbecues and boiled peanuts everywhere, strangers chatted with her at the grocery store. Suero is now involved in the tight-knit Latino community and her two boys are active in sports leagues.

“My kids now say, ‘Yes, ma’am,’” she said.

Hurricanes and citrus diseases in Florida have made it more attractive for some Polk County growers to sell their orchards to developers who are building new homes or stores. Citrus growing there has declined by 81,800 acres and nearly 10 million trees in 2014 at 58,500 acres and 8.5 million trees in 2024, according to federal agricultural statistics.

“There has not been a rushed conversion of land dedicated to citrus for growth,” said Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, a growers group. “But you definitely see it in North and Northeast Polk.”

A suburb of a suburb

Anna, Texas, more than 45 miles north of downtown Dallas, is experiencing the same type of migration.

It was the fourth-fastest growing city in the United States last year, and its population grew by a third during the 2020s to 27,500. Anna became a little older, wealthier, and more racially diverse. Nearly 3 in 5 households have moved into their homes since 2020, according to the Census Bureau.

Schuyler Crouch, 29, and his wife fell in love last year with a reasonably priced home. They both work in Frisco, about 30 miles away, and it has become their favorite place to eat out or entertain instead of downtown Dallas, although, there is not so For a long time, Frisco itself was considered a remote outpost.

Still, Crouch said he’s noticed that suburbs continue to move farther north as rampant growth makes affordable housing out of reach in neighborhoods once considered marginal.

“The next suburb we’re going to live in is Oklahoma,” he joked.

Schneider writes for the Associated Press.