California population growing

State reverses recent trend by adding over 67,000 in 2023

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The nation’s most populous state is growing again, ending a trend of population decline that had dogged Gov. Gavin Newsom through much of his tenure.

California gained just over 67,000 people last year, the first increase since 2019, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the state Department of Finance.

After joining the United States in 1850 on the heels of a gold rush, California was a demographic marvel for its first 169 years — adding population every year as people flocked to the Golden State for its stunning terrain, weather and super-sized economy, which is larger than those of all but four countries.

That streak ended in 2020, when California lost population for the first time during a pivotal census year that led to the state losing a congressional seat. Newsom’s partisan critics said the state’s high cost of living, uncertain power supply, a housing and homelessness crisis and concerns about crime were partly to blame. For a two-year period, Californians moving to Texas made up the largest state-to-state movement in the U.S., according to U.S. Census data.

But the Democratic governor had reason to celebrate Tuesday, as state estimates showed a return to the formula that has powered California’s growth in recent years: A strong influx of legal international immigration, fewer deaths following the coronavirus pandemic and a reduction in the number of people leaving California.

“People from across the nation and the globe are coming to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream and experience the success of the world’s 5th largest economy,” Newsom said in a news release.

Tuesday’s estimate — representing a 0.17 percent growth rate — can hardly be called a surge. But state officials were confident that it signaled a return to more normal population patterns after years of pandemic disruption.

Legal immigration to California from other countries stalled during and just before the coronavirus pandemic amid a spate of travel restrictions and tightened rules under then-president Donald Trump. It rebounded last year with a net gain of 114,200 people — nearly its pre-pandemic level.

State officials called it “a stable foundation for continued growth” — although growth will likely be a lot smaller than it had been, said Eric Mcghee, senior fellow for the Public Policy Institute of California.

More people still left California for other states in 2023 than moved to California from other states, but it was far less than in previous years.

In 2021 California lost a net 355,648 people because of domestic migration. In 2023, that was down to 91,189.