Flood of retirees makes Villages fastest-growing metro area in U.S. The Villages — Florida's largest retirement community — is also the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan area, according to Census Bureau. The unincorporated community of 107,056 residents grew 5.2 percent from 2012 to 2013. In that year, The Villages gained more than 5,300 new people. It was previously classified as a micropolitan area, which has a population of less than 50,000. The Villages prospered with steady growth of retirees at a time when migration to other Florida cities slowed during the recession. In 2012, the retirement community that sprawls over Lake, Sumter and Marion counties. The Villages' pace of growth seems unrelenting to residents, but the pattern of growth — each new residential development gets its own golf courses, pools, restaurants, and other amenities — means the impact of more people moving in isn't significantly felt by other areas of the community. The un...