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Richard Rider

California population growing — slowly

Most people think of California as the most desirable state in the union. Naturally it’s assumed that there’s heavy migration into the Golden State, with the population growing at a robust clip.  But for quite a number of years, that has not been the case.

At the bottom of this article are the just-released 50 states’ population figures for this past fiscal year in chart format. The states are listed in order from fastest to slowest growth.  Remember that the population growth of a state is the net total change considering births, deaths, migration between states and international migration.

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/estimates-national-state.html

Yes, the California population IS growing.  But in spite of our state’s  wonderful physical attributes, the growth is subpar compared to the nation as a whole. In this latest 12 month period, the nation’s population grew 0.62%.  California grew 0.40%.  Stated differently, the country grew over 50% faster than California. I’ve been following this trend for years, and must report that this trend is not new.

The fastest growing state in this time frame was Nevada — growth that is heavily dependent on relocating Californians.  In a related vein, I should mention when when it comes to departing California businesses, the #2 relocation city is Reno, Nevada.  #3 is Las Vegas.  (#1 is Austin, Texas.)

https://riderrants.blogspot.com/2018/12/in-2016-1800-ca-companies-disinvested.html

Idaho is in a virtual tie with Nevada for population growth.  Both states’ population grew over 5 times faster than CA.  Almost all the Idaho growth is in the Boise area.  I think it’s fair to say that not a single Idaho arrival moved there for the weather.

The Texas population grew 1.34% — 3.35 times faster than California.  For the last 15 years, Texas population has grown more than twice as fast as California.

Overall California’s population growth ranked 25th in the nation.  Eight states actually LOST population this past year.  California is not THAT bad.

Yet.

table with row headers in column A and column headers in rows 3 through 5. (leading dots indicate sub-parts)
Table 3. Estimates of Resident Population Change for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico
and Region and State Rankings: July 1, 2017 to July 1, 2018
.Geographic Area Population Estimate
(as of July 1)
Change, 2017 to 2018 National Ranking of Regions and States
Population Estimate
(as of July 1)
Change, 2017 to 2018
2017 2018 Number Percent 2017 2018 Number Percent
United States 325,147,121 327,167,434 2,020,313 0.62 (X) (X) (X) (X)
Northeast 56,072,676 56,111,079 38,403 0.07 4 4 4 4
Midwest 68,156,035 68,308,744 152,709 0.22 3 3 3 3
South 123,598,424 124,753,948 1,155,524 0.93 1 1 1 1
West 77,319,986 77,993,663 673,677 0.87 2 2 2 2
STATES
Nevada 2,972,405 3,034,392 61,987 2.09 34 32 10 1
Idaho 1,718,904 1,754,208 35,304 2.05 39 39 17 2
Utah 3,103,118 3,161,105 57,987 1.87 31 30 12 3
Arizona 7,048,876 7,171,646 122,770 1.74 14 14 4 4
Florida 20,976,812 21,299,325 322,513 1.54 3 3 2 5
Washington 7,425,432 7,535,591 110,159 1.48 13 13 6 6
Colorado 5,615,902 5,695,564 79,662 1.42 21 21 8 7
Texas 28,322,717 28,701,845 379,128 1.34 2 2 1 8
South Carolina 5,021,219 5,084,127 62,908 1.25 23 23 9 9
North Carolina 10,270,800 10,383,620 112,820 1.10 9 9 5 10
Oregon 4,146,592 4,190,713 44,121 1.06 27 27 14 11
Delaware 957,078 967,171 10,093 1.05 45 45 32 12
South Dakota 873,286 882,235 8,949 1.02 46 46 34 13
Georgia 10,413,055 10,519,475 106,420 1.02 8 8 7 14
Tennessee 6,708,794 6,770,010 61,216 0.91 16 16 11 16
Montana 1,053,090 1,062,305 9,215 0.88 44 43 33 17
Minnesota 5,568,155 5,611,179 43,024 0.77 22 22 15 18
North Dakota 755,176 760,077 4,901 0.65 47 47 37 19
Virginia 8,465,207 8,517,685 52,478 0.62 12 12 13 20
Nebraska 1,917,575 1,929,268 11,693 0.61 37 37 29 21
Massachusetts 6,863,246 6,902,149 38,903 0.57 15 15 16 22
N. Hampshire 1,349,767 1,356,458 6,691 0.50 41 41 36 23
Indiana 6,660,082 6,691,878 31,796 0.48 17 17 18 24
California 39,399,349 39,557,045 157,696 0.40 1 1 3 25
Iowa 3,143,637 3,156,145 12,508 0.40 30 31 28 26
Wisconsin 5,792,051 5,813,568 21,517 0.37 20 20 20 27
Arkansas 3,002,997 3,013,825 10,828 0.36 32 33 30 28
Kentucky 4,453,874 4,468,402 14,528 0.33 26 26 26 29
Maryland 6,024,891 6,042,718 17,827 0.30 19 19 24 30
Missouri 6,108,612 6,126,452 17,840 0.29 18 18 23 31
Vermont 624,525 626,299 1,774 0.28 50 50 40 32
Oklahoma 3,932,640 3,943,079 10,439 0.27 28 28 31 33
Alabama 4,875,120 4,887,871 12,751 0.26 24 24 27 34
Maine 1,335,063 1,338,404 3,341 0.25 42 42 38 35
New Jersey 8,888,543 8,908,520 19,977 0.22 11 11 21 36
Ohio 11,664,129 11,689,442 25,313 0.22 7 7 19 37
Michigan 9,976,447 9,995,915 19,468 0.20 10 10 22 38
Pennsylvania 12,790,447 12,807,060 16,613 0.13 5 5 25 39
New Mexico 2,093,395 2,095,428 2,033 0.10 36 36 39 40
Rhode Island 1,056,486 1,057,315 829 0.08 43 44 41 41
Kansas 2,910,689 2,911,505 816 35 35 42 42
Connecticut 3,573,880 3,572,665 -1,215 29 29 44 43
Mississippi 2,989,663 2,986,530 -3,133 -0.10 33 34 46 44
Wyoming 578,934 577,737 -1,197 -0.21 51 51 43 45
Louisiana 4,670,818 4,659,978 -10,840 -0.23 25 25 48 46
New York 19,590,719 19,542,209 -48,510 -0.25 4 4 51 47
Hawaii 1,424,203 1,420,491 -3,712 -0.26 40 40 47 48
Alaska 739,786 737,438 -2,348 -0.32 48 48 45 49
Illinois 12,786,196 12,741,080 -45,116 -0.35 6 6 50 50
West Virginia 1,817,048 1,805,832 -11,216 -0.62 38 38 49 51
District of Columbia 695,691 702,455 6,764 0.97 49 49 35 15
Puerto Rico 3,325,001 3,195,153 -129,848 -3.91 (X) (X) (X) (X)
Dash (-) represents zero or rounds to zero.
(X) Not applicable.
Note: The estimates are based on the 2010 Census and reflect changes to the April 1, 2010 population due to the Count Question Resolution program and geographic program revisions. See Geographic Terms and Definitions at
http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/guidance-geographies/terms-and-definitions.html for a list of the states that are included in each region. All geographic boundaries for the 2018 population estimates series except statistical area delineations are as of January 1, 2018. For population estimates methodology statements, see
http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology.html.
Suggested Citation:
Table 3. Estimates of Resident Population Change for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico and Region and State Rankings: July 1, 2017 to July 1, 2018 (NST-EST2018-03)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Release Date: December 2018