Recent data from the US Census Bureau shows that the recovery of California’s population is primarily driven by international immigrants, a factor that also plays an important role in overall population growth in the United States.
According to the latest estimates released by the Census Bureau on the 19th, the population of California exceeded 39.4 million in 2024, an increase of about 0.6% compared to the previous year. However, it still decreased by about 124,000 (0.3%) compared to April 2020.
The census data also indicates that in recent years, the number of Californian residents moving out of state has exceeded those moving in.
From July 2023 to July 2024, California lost approximately 240,000 residents due to out-migration. However, the influx of over 361,000 international immigrants during the same period filled the gap, resulting in a net increase of 121,000 immigrants in California.
At the same time, the number of newborns in California exceeded the number of deaths by about 110,000. As a result, the population of California increased by nearly 233,000 in 2024.
Looking at the period from April 2020 to July 2024, California lost nearly 1.5 million residents due to domestic out-migration. During the same period, international immigrants brought over 930,000 people to California, natural changes from births and deaths added over 418,000 people to the population, but the growth from the latter two categories could not offset the losses from out-migration.
In the United States as a whole, the population grew by about 1% over the past year, exceeding 340 million.
The Census Bureau stated that this has been the fastest year of population growth in the United States since 2001. Compared to the historically low growth rate of 0.2% set in 2021, the increase is significant.
According to the bureau, from July 2023 to July 2024, international immigrants accounted for 84% of the 3.3 million population growth in the United States, which is 2.8 million, reflecting a continued upward trend in international immigration.
The bureau pointed out that net international immigration is on the rise in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In the year leading up to July 2024, looking at the states with the highest net international immigration in the United States, Florida gained a net of 411,322 people, California gained a net of 361,057 people, Texas gained a net of 319,569 people, and New York gained a net of 207,161 people.
Among the top four most populous states in the United States, New York (total population 19,867,248) and California (total population 39,431,263) saw a similar trend of net outmigration of over 120,000 people in the past year. Since April 2020, New York has lost over 966,000 people.
On the other hand, Florida (total population 23,372,215) and Texas (total population 31,290,831) have seen a continuous increase in domestic inbound migration: Florida gained 64,000 residents in the past year and increased by a net of 873,000 residents since April 2020; while Texas gained 85,000 residents in the past year and increased by a net of 748,000 residents since April 2020. ◇