The Villages Just Keeps Growing!

The Villages Ranks as Fastest Growing Micropolitan Area in the Nation

Census Bureau Ranks Mega Retirement Community for Population Growth over One Year

THE VILLAGES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Villages, the largest single-site mixed-use development in the U.S., earned the No.1 ranking as the fastest growing micropolitan area in the nation according to a recently released Census Bureau report. The report adds a new perspective to population estimates the federal agency released in March, which ranked Sumter County as the nation's 11th fastest-growing county in 2007. It is the first time The Villages earned the No. 1 ranking since its designation in 2003 as a micropolitan statistical area. In its definitions, the federal agency classifies a micropolitan area as one or more counties with an urban core of at least 10,000 people but less than 50,000.

"Baby boomers are still retiring and looking for a wonderful place to live," said John M. Crossman, CCIM, president of Crossman & Company. "With over 2.9 million square feet of shopping and dinning, The Villages has much to offer."

"What is happening in The Villages MSA in terms of population growth is similar to what is occurring in Florida and elsewhere," said Sean M. Snaith, Ph.D., and director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. "First, we've got a wave of population moving in at retirement age, the baby boomers," Snaith added, referring to the U.S. population segment of about 80 million residents born between 1946 and 1964. "That's going to continue to drive population growth in general."