Florida's economy is back. Real estate is surging, unemployment is down and tourism is rising. Some counties are hard at work diversifying their economies, while others are beginning to capitalize on major infrastructure projects.

The Woods & Poole population figures below show Florida within hailing distance of 20 million in total population. Numbers from other respected sources, including the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, are somewhat more conservative. It's a good bet, however, that the state will pass that benchmark sometime before the end of 2015.

In Florida, the name of the game is again growth.

Sources for income, population and age charts on following pages: Woods & Poole Economics Inc., Washington, D.C. Copyright 2014. Woods & Poole does not guarantee the accuracy of this data. The use of this data and the conclusions drawn from it are solely the responsibility of FLORIDA TREND. Population data include military stationed in Florida, college residents and inmates. Property income includes rent, dividend and interest payments. Transfer income includes Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance.Jobs data are from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation and include total non-agricultural employment. The numbers are preliminary and not seasonally adjusted.Housing numbers are from Florida Realtors. Prices are median. Because of changes in the way data was processed and changing MSAs, comparisons to 2012 may not apply.