Well, as promised, the press release from my unit is in the LA Times today. The numbers themselves are an indication that California is still the top destination for most people moving to the States as well as from elsewhere in the U.S. High natural increase too. Most of the press release is as it was written.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-05050...-home-headlines2:34 PM PDT, May 5, 2004
State's Population Grew 1.5% in 2003
Trend affected more by births than by migration compared to previous years, officials say.
By Mary MacVean, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO — California's population increased by 532,000 last year to 36,144,000 people, a 1.5% increase over 2002, according to annual data released today by the state.
The 2003 increase was slightly less than in 2002, when the state Department of Finance reported a 1.6% growth rate, or 563,000 residents.
In 2000 and 2001, the population grew slightly more from people moving into the state than from births. But in the last two years studied, the increase by births has grown, said Linda Gage, a demographer with the Finance Department.
When people talk about population growth, she said, they talk about such issues as jobs, employment and housing. "A baby doesn't need a house of its own or a job or even a school for a long time."
Overall, she said, "there are no wild surprises in this report. The state is continuing to grow in a manner and a pattern that it has in the past several years."
Of the 477 California cities listed in the Department of Finance report, 411 gained population, 13 experienced little or no change, and 53 lost population. The state's three largest cities all gained people: 52,800 in Los Angeles for a total of 3,912,200; 12,600 in San Diego to 1,294,000; and 6,600 in San Jose to 926,200.
Elk Grove, in Sacramento County, had the state's fastest growth rate, 27%, or 23,200 people, to 109,100. The city annexed the community of Laguna West and added nearly 3,000 housing units, which accounted for the increase, the Finance Department said.
Among other findings:
Beaumont, in Riverside County, had the second-fastest growth rate, 17.6%. Beaumont gained 952 homes during the year. Other communities where new housing accounted for growth included Wheatland in Yuba County (16.4%), Lincoln in Placer County (15.7%), Murrieta in Riverside County (13.8%), and Brentwood in Contra Costa County (12.4%).
Along with Elk Grove, Visalia in Tulare County, with 102,700 people, and Antioch in Contra Costa County, with 100,600, now give California 62 communities with populations that exceed 100,000. The state has 154 cities with more than 50,000 people.
San Diego County reached a milestone by exceeding 3 million people.
Changes to the housing stock are used to prepare the annual city population estimates presented in this report. State and county figures were determined by birth and death counts, address changes recorded by the Department of Motor Vehicles, employment data, school enrollment figures, federal income tax summaries, data from the immigration officials and Medicare and Medicaid sources.
