These are fastest growing cities in CA, Census says. See how big they’re getting
Despite widespread reports of people moving out California, some parts of the Golden State are getting more crowded.
A total of eight metropolitan areas in California saw significant population growth between 2023 and 2024, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Increasingly, population growth in metro areas is being shaped by international migration,” Kristie Wilder, a demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Division, said in a news release. “While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these areas.”
Overall, the number of people living in metropolitan areas in the United States increased by 3.2 million residents — about 1.1% — to 293.9 million between 2023 and 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
During the same time period, the total U.S. population increased by nearly 1% to more than 340 million people, the Census Bureau said.
Nine of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas were in the South, the federal agency said, with communities in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Texas seeing population increases of 2.7% or more between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024.
Only one metropolitan area in the West made the list, the Census Bureau said.
The Provo-Orem-Lehi metro area in Utah saw a 3% population bump from 2023 to 2024, according to the federal agency.
Is California’s population increasing or decreasing?
California’s population grew by 108,000 people in 2024, reaching 39,529,000 people by Jan. 1, according to the latest data from the California Department of Finance.
That continues a population trend established in 2023, when California saw an increase of more than 67,000 people.
According to the state Finance Department, key factors behind California’s population growth included increases in legal immigration to the Golden State, a bump in residents 65 and older and higher enrollment for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
“People from across the nation and the globe are coming to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream, where rights are protected and people are respected,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a May 1 statement. “As the fourth largest economy in the world — from the Inland Empire to the Bay Area — regions throughout California are growing, strengthening local communities and boosting our state’s future.”
What are fastest growing metro areas in California?
These were the fastest growing metropolitan areas in California, according to the U.S. Census.
The data includes annual population estimates from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2024, along with approximate percentage increases between 2023 and 2024, the most recent statistics available.
Bakersfield-Delano metropolitan area
- 2020: 909,233 residents
- 2021: 851,698
- 2022: 851,698
- 2023: 851,698
- 2024: 869,940
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 2.14%
Stockton-Lodi metro area
- 2020: 780,676 residents
- 2021: 780,676
- 2022: 780,676
- 2023: 780,676
- 2024: 788,096
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.95%
Visalia metro area
- 2020: 473,944
- 2021: 473,944
- 2022: 473,944
- 2023: 473,944
- 2024: 476,939
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.63%
Fresno metro area
- 2020: 1,166,047 residents
- 2021: 1,183,301
- 2022: 1,183,301
- 2023: 1,183,301
- 2024: 1,189,557
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.53%
Chico metro area
- 2020: 210,222 residents
- 2021: 207,354
- 2022: 207,354
- 2023: 207,354
- 2024: 208,334
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.47%
Yuba City metro area
- 2020: 181,480 residents
- 2021: 181,480
- 2022: 181,480
- 2023: 181,480
- 2024: 182,156
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.37%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area
- 2020: 13,182,895 residents
- 2021: 12,886,400
- 2022: 12,886,400
- 2023: 12,886,400
- 2024: 12,927,614
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.32%
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area:
- 2020: 2,401,696 residents
- 2021: 2,401,696
- 2022: 2,401,696
- 2023: 2,401,696
- 2024: 2,409,061
- Percent change from 2023 to 2024: 0.31%
Which California metro areas saw populations decrease?
According to Census data, a total of 11 California metro areas saw their populations drop between 2023 and 2024.
Here’s approximately how much those populations decreased in a one-year period, the U.S Census Bureau said:
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area: 3.99% decrease
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area: 2.61%
- Santa Maria-Santa Barbara metro area: 2.45%
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area: 0.82%
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma metro area: 0.81%
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area: 0.87%
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metro area: 0.45%
- Vallejo metro area: 0.60%
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area: 0.27%
- Modesto metro area: 0.14%
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area: 0.08%
