California reverses years of decline with 67,000-person growth spurt, but critics warn Gov Newsom against ‘bragging’ until he’s cut living costs
California has been dogged in recent years by rampant homelessness, drug addiction and eye-watering costs of living, forcing residents to move en masse to Arizona, Texas and beyond.
Now it appears the Golden State is rebounding.
California grew by about 67,000 residents last year, its first gain since 2019, according to a Treasury Department estimate.
This ends the population decline that has dogged Governor Gavin Newsom – widely seen as a future Democratic presidential candidate – for much of his term.
California grew by about 67,000 people last year, and the crowds are big on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles
Housing construction has increased in California, but costs remain well above the national average
The small increase represents only a growth rate of 0.17 percent.
That is certainly not an increase.
But officials say it signals a return to steady population growth after years of disruption from Covid-19.
Newsom took a victory lap.
“People from all over the country and all over the world come to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream,” he said.
On the West Coast, they can experience “the success of the fifth largest economy in the world,” he added.
The population growth is attributed to more people immigrating to California from abroad.
Fewer people are also dying from the coronavirus pandemic, and fewer people are leaving California to live more cheaply elsewhere.
Legal immigration to California from other countries fell during the pandemic due to stricter rules under then-President Donald Trump.
In 2023, it recovered with a net gain of 114,200 people, almost to pre-pandemic levels.
State officials called it a “stable foundation for continued growth.”
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom Says People Are Returning for the ‘California Dream’
State Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher says Newsom should stop ‘bragging’
But that growth will likely be a lot smaller than in recent decades, said Eric McGhee, an expert at the Public Policy Institute of California.
“It will be better for the state in terms of total population,” McGhee said.
But California will still “lose more congressional districts in the 2030 census,” he added.
More people still left California for other states in 2023 than moved to California from other states, but it was far fewer than previous years.
In 2021 — with coronavirus cases still rising and more people working remotely — California lost a net 355,648 people to domestic migration.
By last year that had fallen to 91,189, closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Still, Newsom’s critics say California isn’t out of the woods yet.
The state continued to suffer from high costs of living, uncertain power supplies, a housing and homelessness crisis and widespread concerns about crime.
The return to population growth does not appear to be a revival of the state’s stunning growth streak in the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The governor who brags about that looks a bit like the guy who lost thousands of dollars at the casino last night and bragged about making $20 at the blackjack table,” joked James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the state Assembly.
California grew by about 67,000 residents last year, the first gain since 2019
More people means more homeless: California has the highest number of unhoused people of any US state
‘I don’t understand why the governor and the Democratic supermajority continue to turn a blind eye to it. They act as if nothing is wrong, while a lot is wrong.’
California’s gas prices, utility bills and housing costs are among the highest in the country.
The state’s homelessness problem has only worsened, even as lawmakers poured billions of dollars into the problem.
California is also facing back-to-back multi-billion dollar budget deficits.
Newsom’s efforts to lower the cost of living, including by trying to reduce certain medical costs, are a drop in the ocean.
Critics say California’s heyday is in the rearview mirror.
After California joined the United States in 1850 following a gold rush, it was a demographic miracle for the first 169 years, with its population increasing every year.
People flocked to the Golden State for its stunning terrain, weather and super-sized economy, which is bigger than that of all but four countries.
That streak came to an end in 2020, when California lost population for the first time, in a crucial census year that saw the state lose a congressional seat.
According to census data, Californians moving to Texas made up the largest state flow of people in America over a two-year period.
The state’s population growth estimate appears to be at odds with recent Census Bureau figures.
The state’s estimate was based on several factors, including births and deaths, changes in driver’s license address, vehicle registration and enrollment in the state-funded Medicaid and Medicare health insurance programs.
With agencies.