California’s population grew by 0.9 percent adding 356,000 residents in 2013 to total 38,340,000 as of January 1, 2014, according to the population report released today by the Department of Finance. The report shows preliminary January 2014 and revised January 2013 population data for California cities, counties, and the state. Highlights include:
The San Francisco Bay area leads the state as the fastest growing region. Three out of the five fastest growing counties are in the Bay area. Santa Clara County is the fastest growing county in the state (1.5 percent) closely followed by Alameda County.
The City of Los Angeles, California’s largest city, has a population of 3,904,657. Los Angeles grew by over 38,000 persons during 2013. San Diego, California’s second largest city with a population of 1,345,895, added almost 18,000 persons during the year. San Jose, California’s third largest city, has surpassed a million residents with a population of 1,000,536 and added almost 17,000 persons after experiencing a downward revision in population in the 2010 census benchmark.
The City of McFarland in Kern County ranked as the fastest growing city in California, increasing by 8.9 percent. The bulk of the growth in McFarland is due to the state housing additional inmates in community correctional facilities to meet the court-ordered prison population cap of 137.5 percent of design capacity.