California’s population is on the rise. So much for the claims of the state’s demise

[ocman]

California’s population is on the rise. So much for the claims of the state’s demise

SACRAMENTO — It was bound to end. This is California, after all. Losing population defies our history. Now we’re back growing again.
Yes, that’s correct. California has resumed adding people after three years of shedding them.

Just last week, I reported that California residents were fleeing the state. They still are. But our numbers again are rising, based on updated Newsom administration data to be released around May 1.

What caused the turnaround?

Fewer people are now able to work remotely in other states, old people have quit dying at the extraordinary rate they were during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Biden administration has relaxed restrictions on legal immigration.

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Schwarm said 42% of California’s legal immigrants come from Asia and 38% from Central America. And 57% have at least a bachelor’s degree. Last year, California gained more than 124,000 legal foreign immigrants,

California’s population grows for the first time since 2020

California’s population is celebrating its first net increase since 2020 — with a net gain of 67,000 residents last year, state authorities announced on Tuesday.
Officials attributed the rise — to 39,128,162 individuals as of Jan. 1 — to an improvement in legal foreign immigration policies, a growth in the natural population and the return of mortality rates to long-term trends.
Meanwhile, net domestic migration rates receded to those of the 2010s, while the state’s Department of Finance projected a continued positive population expansion.
“With immigration processing backlogs largely eliminated and deaths returning to long-term trends, a stable foundation for continued growth has returned,” a statement from the agency said.

Population numbers rose in 31 of California’s 58 counties, predominantly in the Bay Area, the Central Valley and the “Inland Empire:” the metropolitan area eastbound of coastal Southern California.

Los Angeles County and Orange County grew by 0.05 and 0.31 percent, respectively, according to the data.

Five counties across the state featured growth that surpassed one percent: Sutter, Yuba and Glenn counties in the Sacramento Valley; San Benito County east of Monterey; and Imperial County east of San Diego. The Department of Finance attributed those increases largely to housing gains.
Nine of 10 counties with populations of more than 1 million, which make up 72 percent of the state’s total residents, saw surges in their numbers. Riverside County was at the helm, with an increase of 13,800 individuals.

TLDR version: Population rose back above 39M. Net gain of 67,000. Net migration receded back to 2010 levels. Biden’s immigration relaxation and asylum seekers and calling employees back to the office. Also, people not dying.