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Q&A: Florida's population, Bocelli's family

 
Published Jan. 3, 2014

Getting to No. 3

Now that Florida will soon be the third-largest state, can you detail the progression to get there?

Last week came the inevitable announcement that Florida would soon be the state with the third-largest population, passing New York.

We went back through more than 100 years of Census data to show the progress our state made to get to this point.

In 1909, Florida had an estimated 724,000 people, which ranked it 34th among the states. Over the next 30 years Florida grew steadily, to 1,836,000 by 1939, which bumped it up to 27th place.

By 1949 Florida had 2,668,000 residents and was 20th. Growth continued its spectacular pace in the 1950s, very nearly doubling to 4,952,000 residents by 1959. That put Florida 10th.

By 1969 Florida had 6,789,000 residents and was ninth. In 1980 the total soared to 9,746,324, bumping the state up to seventh. In 1990, Florida counted 12,937,926 residents, making it the fourth-largest state in population.

The 1990s saw Florida growing to 16,047,515 by July 2000 and maintaining its ranking. By 2010 the population was up to 18,843,326.

The latest U.S. Census figures are estimates as of July 1, 2013, and showed New York at 19,651,127 compared with Florida's 19,552,860. Considering the rates of growth (Florida has had an annual growth rate of 3.75 percent since 2010, compared with New York's 1.3 percent), some population experts believe Florida has already overtaken the Empire State, and it will be official by the next estimate in July.

"Based on Census Bureau estimates, Florida will probably pass New York within the next year," Stan Smith, program director of the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, told the News Service of Florida on Monday.

California (38,332,621) and Texas (36,448,193) remain 1-2 in population, which probably won't change anytime soon. Texas is the second-largest state in land area, with 268,820 square miles (Alaska is No. 1 at 663,267), and California is third at 163,695. Florida ranks 22nd in land area at 65,755 square miles, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Bocelli's first wife

Who was Andrea Bocelli's first wife and what happened to her?

Bocelli, an Italian tenor, married Enrica Cenzatti in 1992 and they separated in 2002. They have two sons.

He and girlfriend Veronica Berti, who also is his manager, gave birth to a girl they named Virginia in March 2012. Cenzatti was living in a neighboring villa from Bocelli and Berti in Italy, several European newspapers reported last year.

Bocelli recently bought an estate in North Miami Beach, which will be a second home.

Compiled from Times and wire reports. To submit a question, email answers@tampabay.com.