California’s population has declined for the second year in a row, but there are indications that the rate of decline may slow, the state’s Treasury Department said Monday.
The total population of California has fallen by 117,552 inhabitants, or 0.3%, in 2021, bringing the total population to 39,185,605.
“The 0.3 percent decline is a slowdown from a 0.59 percent decline in the nine-month period between the April 2020 census date and the end of the year,” the annual population update said.
The state said the decline was due to an aging baby boom, federal policies restricting immigration, COVID-19 deaths and an increase in people leaving the state.
Of the state’s 58 counties, 38 have declined, including four counties in the Gulf region. In the list of counties with the top 10 biggest reductions, Plumas saw a decline in its population of 3.2%, Lassen 2.8%, Butte 2.4%, Del Norte 1.4%, Napa 1%, San Mateo 0 , 9%, Marin 0.9% and Shasta, San Francisco and Ventura fell 0.8%.
In the Central Valley and the Inner Empire, their population grew as each coastal district declined, with the exception of three college towns – San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz – where students returned to dormitories.
Only two counties saw a population increase of more than 1%: Yolo jumped 1.8% due to the return of students to dormitories at UC Davis, and San Benito rose 1.1% due to the construction of new housing.
At the height of the pandemic, there was a lot of talk about the so-called “California eviction” – people who fled the high prices and fast pace of the Golden State for a more peaceful and affordable life in places like Bozeman, Montana and Austin, Texas.
The latest figures show that the state’s population has indeed declined. The San Francisco-Auckland-Berkeley subway area is the third largest population in the country to gather and relocate between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, with a net migration loss of 128,870 people. The U.S. Census Bureau in March said.
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