California population shrinks for third straight year

Los Angeles, Dec 24

The US Census Bureau's latest statistics showed that California's population fell this year to 39,029,000, marking the third straight year that the Golden State had reported a loss.

Compared to other states, California, which is still the most populous state in the country, had the 10th largest percentage decline of 0.3 per cent, or a drop of 114,000 residents, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the figures released on Thursday.

The biggest drop was in New York with 0.9 per cent, with a decrease of 180,341 residents. Net domestic migration (-299,557) was the largest contributing component to the state's population decline.

Illinois (0.8 per cent), Louisiana (0.8 per cent), West Virginia (0.6 per cent) and Hawaii (0.5 per cent) were among the states with the largest percentage decline of population.

With an increase of 470,708 people since July 2021, Texas was the largest-gaining state in the nation, reaching a total population of 30,029,572. Crossing the 30-million-population threshold this past year, Texas joins California as the only states with a resident population above 30 million.

Florida was the fastest-growing state in 2022, with an annual population increase of 1.9 per cent, resulting in a total resident population of 22,244,823.

Other states with the largest percentage increases during the year were Idaho at 1.8 per cent; South Carolina at 1.7 per cent; and South Dakota and Montana, at 1.5 per cent respectively.