California population is declining, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau
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From July 2021 to July 2022, the state had a decrease of 113,000 residents; according to the census, California has 39,029,342 residents
California 's population has been declining in recent years, according to the most recent data from the United States Census Bureau.
Data released last week showed that, as of July 2022, California's resident population was 39,029,342, a decrease of more than 113,000 people from July 2021 and by more than half a million people since July 2020.
In July 2021, a population of 39,142,991 residents was reported, while in July 2020 there were 39,538,245 inhabitants.
California Department of Finance deputy director of external affairs HD Palmer told the Sacramento Bee that the population decline reflected the state's housing affordability crisis.
“If you talk to demographers, they will say that one of the factors is the cost of housing; and that continues to be a challenging issue for the state,” Palmer said.
At the national level, the population of the United States had an increase of 1,256,003 people, 0.4%, to have a total of 333,287,557 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau.
“There was a significant increase in population growth last year compared to the record low increase the year before,” Census Bureau demographer Kristie Wilder said in a news release.
“Behind this increase is a rebound in net international migration, along with the largest year-on-year increase in total births since 2007,” Wilder added.
Texas and Florida posted the most significant growth among the nation's largest states.
Texas added 470,708 people since July 2021, for a total population of 30,029,572, joining California as the only two states with a resident population of more than 30 million.