Javier Acevedo, a senior GIS analyst with the Broward County Urban Planning Division, told the Broward Housing Council that the county’s population is aging and becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, with international migration the leading contributor to recent growth.

Acevedo opened with a long-run visual overview of development in Broward County, saying, “These maps show you a hundred and 10 years of change.” He then presented animated population pyramids, generational breakdowns, maps and charts to show changes from 2010 through recent years and projections to 2050.

The presentation highlighted several findings Acevedo presented as data points. He said the school-age population rose only slightly between 2010 and 2023 (an increase he described as about 1 percent), while the senior population increased by roughly 50 percent over the same period. Acevedo said about 15 percent of the county’s residents are school-aged and about 18 percent are 65 or older now, and he showed projections through 2050 that districts the council will likely see further growth: the school-age population is projected to increase by about 37 percent (around 100,000 people) from 2020 to 2050, while the senior population is projected to grow by about 67 percent (near 225,000 people).

Acevedo showed maps of racial and ethnic concentrations and a multi-decade series indicating a shift in the county’s makeup. He said the foreign-born share of the population rose from about 18 percent in 1990 to about 36 percent in 2020 and that more than four out of five foreign-born residents in 2020 were born in Latin America. He summarized: “In 2024, the leading factor contributing to population was international net migration.”

On housing and income, Acevedo reported Broward County has roughly 850,000 housing units and that more than a quarter were built in the 1970s. He said multifamily construction has dominated since about 2012 and that median household income was $74,500 in 2023. Using the slides, he noted a widening gap between incomes and home prices: the median sales price of a single-family home rose steeply after 2019; Acevedo contrasted 2012, when the median sales price was about four times the median household income, with 2023, when he said the median sales price was about eight times median household income.

Acevedo also reviewed labor and jobs data, saying Broward residents’ occupations are concentrated in management/professional, services, and sales/office work and that jobs located inside the county are dominated by service and retail sectors. He closed with a focused look at poverty and seniors: maps showed isolated census tracts with senior poverty rates above 30 percent, concentrated in areas with assisted-living facilities and age-restricted buildings. He noted 2023 federal thresholds he used for reference: a single senior in poverty at $14,610 and a two-person household at $18,430.

During a short question-and-answer period, Housing Council member Luke Harrigan asked whether Fort Lauderdale was included among areas with the highest poverty pockets; Acevedo replied that some Fort Lauderdale census tracts were among the 40–50 percent poverty pockets and offered to provide a city-level ranking on request.

Acevedo left his contact information and printed cards with staff for council members who wanted follow-up materials; he said staff could distribute additional details on request.

The presentation supplied the council with detailed maps and projections intended to inform future housing, service and planning decisions.