For the first time, all nine counties in the Bay Area had a drop in population, ranging from a -0.19 percent in Solano County to -1.77 percent in San Francisco. No urban coastal counties gained population.Ĭounties in the San Francisco Bay Area had increasing outmigration flow. Most inland counties had positive population growth rates, continuing a trend that started in 2016. San Benito and Colusa counties had the highest growth rates, at 1.27 percent and 1.07 percent, respectively. The population increased in 20 counties largely in the Central Valley, the Sacramento Valley, and the Inland Empire. Domestic out-migration saw some increase, while domestic in-migration slowed considerably.Ĭalifornia’s 58 counties range in size from Alpine County, with just over 1,100 residents, to Los Angeles County with 9.9 million residents. While net international migration added population during this period, negative domestic net migration outweighed these gains, resulting in an overall net migration loss of 249,200 residents. Global travel restrictions during the pandemic also resulted in 53,000 fewer international students in California, a decline of 29 percent. Net international migration to California declined significantly to 27,000 persons in fiscal year 2020-21, reflecting the suspension of visa processing in March 2020 through December 2020, which was extended to certain types of foreign worker visas through June 2021. However, with continuing fertility declines and increased 1 deaths from aging and the pandemic, natural increase did not offset the declines in net migration-total migration into the state minus total out-migration -during this period. Since 2016, net domestic outmigration has exceeded net international migration, leaving natural increase as the only source of population growth. Since 2011, California has experienced negative net domestic migration, where the number of people moving out of the state in a year exceed the number moving in. Seven counties had death rates at least 20 percent above average 23 counties had rates between 10 and 20 percent above average, and 28 counties had death rates at less than 10 percent above average. “Excess deaths” - or, deaths above their pre-pandemic three-year average, but not attributed to a single factor-were observed in all counties, from 3.9 percent above average in Lake County to 29.3 percent above average in Imperial County. While deaths are generally rising due to an aging population, state vital statistics data indicate the COVID-19 pandemic directly increased deaths for this period by 56,479.
Births were down from 437,300 in the year ending July 1, 2020, while deaths were up from 280,300 in the preceding year, some due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Natural increase-births minus deaths-added 76,100 people to the state over the period with 420,300 births and 344,200 deaths. The additional COVID-19-related deaths on top of these existing trends further compounded the annual loss. Though a new federal administration took office in January, immigration policies were not altered until late February, and lags in implementing these changes remain.
In recent years, the first two factors – which mirror nationwide trends – have contributed to the state’s population growth slowing and plateauing. Other factors contributing to the decrease include the loss of 53,000 international students due to pandemic restrictions, and declines in domestic in-migration.
Three principal factors contributed once again to this net population decrease: The 0.44-percent decline is slightly less than, but follows a similar pattern of, the population decline reported for the January 2021 calendar year estimates. DecemSACRAMENTO – California’s population declined by 173,000 between Jand Jto total 39.37 million, according to official population estimates released last Friday by the Department of Finance.