The country's top four fastest-growing metro areas over the past three years were all in the Sunshine State, according to U.S. census figures out Thursday.

The big picture: The growth in the Florida cities comes amid a broader population and economic boom in Southern states.

• "Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident," the Census Bureau said.
• On a yearly basis, the "10 counties with the largest net domestic in-migration were mostly in the South," the bureau said.

By the numbers: Between 2020 and 2023, the country's fastest-growing metro area was Lakeland, Fla., at 12.1%.

• Between 2022 and 2023, it was Wildwood-The Villages, Fla., at 4.7%.

Zoom in: New York City lost nearly 78,000 residents in 2023, shrinking its population to 8.26 million. But city officials say that doesn't account for the influx of tens of thousands of asylum seekers last year.

Go deeper: How the pandemic shifted America's geography of income