According to recent reports from the Census Bureau, Lassen County had the nation’s most significant percent decline in population. The county dropped by 6% from July 2021 to July 2022, having a negative total population change of over 1900 individuals.
However, this was not uncommon for many counties throughout the state. More than half of the 58 counties saw a population loss in the same timeframe. The Census Bureau has shown that California’s population has declined since 2020. Half a million people have left, with over 100,000 exiting the state last year.
CalMatters says the so-called “California exodus” used to be big news, yet “Now, it just looks like the new trend” as the state’s population is still shrinking. CalMatter contributed that the significant factor behind the decline in the state was not due to deaths from the pandemic or those leaving the country altogether but rather, “The major driving factor is Californians departing for other states.”
The massive loss of people in the state also led to the loss of a congressional seat.
Data from the census bureau only indicates that fewer people are moving into California, immigration has slowed, and fewer babies are being born, with more people dying.
Paul Ong, Director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA, told the LA Times that he points the finger “to economic, health and sociopolitical factors driving people to leave the state. He noted that housing prices in California have pushed many to move to states where costs are lower.”
Though the state’s population loss has peaked, the net gain remains insignificant to have any effect on population recovery.
Photo by Enayet Raheem on Unsplash
