POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County is seeing more people move to that area than anywhere else in the United States, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to that data, over 60% of counties in the country saw more people moving in, but Polk County saw the most growth.

Kris Kindle and his family have lived in their home in the county for six years, when there were only a few houses in his neighborhood.

He says in the last four years, he’s seen new homes sprout up like weeds.

“They’ve put up a lot of homes in the past three years,” Kindle said.

Nearly 30,000 new people moved to Polk County in 2022, according to the data from the U.S. Census, and over 26,000 moved there in 2023.

Bigger counties, like Miami Dade and Los Angeles, saw more people get out of town.

“We get a kind of the best of both worlds without having to actually deal with Disney daily or deal with the beaches daily,” Kindle said.

“It’s just a modern, small city,” said Matthew Barnes, who lives in Lakeland. “That’s how we think of it.”

Barnes and his family recently moved back to Polk County after living there 15 years ago.

“We were able to get a really nice house for much more than over in like Tampa or Orlando in a really nice neighborhood,” Barnes said.

When they were looking for homes, they were able to find something bigger than what they originally wanted, with an even cheaper price tag because they were looking in Polk.

“It’s growing so much,” Barnes said. “There’s always more things being added constantly. New construction everywhere. So, it’s definitely a place that’s becoming a growing metropolis.”

That’s why Kindle is thankful he found his home in Polk County six years ago, because he’s found a piece of affordability in a small neighborhood that’s growing all the time.