Slow growth across California
Fresno/Clovis/Bakersfield/Tulare rank high for growth
-May 8,2020-
California added 87,494 residents to bring the state’s estimated total population to 39,782,870 people as of January 1st, 2020, according to new population estimates released in early May by the California Department of Finance. Many communities experienced slow growth but some areas actually shrunk.
You can imagine a good chunk of San Luis Obispo residents are cheering the top headline wanting to keep our little bit of paradise a secret. The demographic report says San Luis Obispo County population fell from 278,355 in 2018 to 277,259 by January 2020.That is a decline of 0.4%.
By percentage Pismo Beach was down the most from 8237 to 8,139 residents – a 1.2% decline.The City of San Luis Obispo was flat while Atascadero lost 1%.
In our reading area more robust growth was seen inland like in Tulare County – where the county grew 0.7% to just under 480,000. Dinuba grew 1.2%, Woodlake grew by 1.1% and Visalia grew by 0.7% to just under 138,000 and adding nearly 1000. Tulare was the fastest growing city in the county reporting 2.1% growth and 1377 more residents in 2019.
The report contains preliminary year-over-year January 2020 and revised January 2019 population data for California cities, counties, and the state. These estimates are based on information through January 1, 2020, and do not include adjustments for potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key findings of the state’s annual report include:
California’s population grew by only 0.2 percent, continuing a historically slow growth trend since the Great Recession.
Growth remains strong in the interior counties of the Central Valley and the Inland Empire, while remaining modest in the Bay Area, and slowing to near zero and even negative in most of the coastal counties.
Los Angeles County, the state’s most populous county, has now lost population the last two years, dropping 0.3 percent in 2018 and 0.1 percent in 2019. Rural counties in the mountain regions of the state and counties impacted by wildfires experienced the most population loss.
San Francisco was the top growth city by number – adding 6785 more residents followed by Sacramento, Bakersfield and Fresno who added 2757 persons- the 5th fastest growing city in California.Clovis wasn’t far behind adding 2566 new residents.
Fastest growing cities in our reading area- many well inland – include Guadalupe that grew by 4.1%, Wasco 4.85%, Shafter 2.98%,Kingsburg 2.65%,Clovis 2.24%,Merced 2.37%, Tulare 2.07%, Manteca 1,68%, Coalinga 1.50%, Parlier 1.48% and Bakersfield 1.43%.
Paradise makes modest comeback
Near the top of the fastest growing communities statewide is wildfire-devastated Paradise in Butte County that recorded a population. increase of 3.26% in 2019 from 4485 in 2018 to 4631.
The city was destroyed by the Camp Fire in November 8, 2018 when eighty-six people died, tens of thousands displaced and 18,804 buildings were destroyed. It was the deadliest and most destructive fire in California.
Before the fire the small city had a population of 26,800. After the Camp Fire a door-to-door count in April 2019 found just 2,034 people left.
Now there is a modest comeback, according to the state count, to 4631 persons as the community slowly rebuilds