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Fort Myers leads Florida's growth

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - In the years since Florida's population growth dropped to its lowest level in decades, the state's expansion has re-bounded the most in inland communities in South Florida, the suburbs of Orlando and the Fort Myers area.

Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show which Florida places with populations greater than 20,000 people grew the fastest from 2010 to 2015.

They were Parkland, Cooper City and Doral in South Florida; St. Cloud, Ocoee and Winter Garden in suburban Orlando; and Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.

The growth in the South Florida communities was helped by good schools and land being cheaper inland than on the beach side.

Metro Orlando has been among the state's leaders in job growth, and the Fort Myers area has rebounded from the housing crisis.

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