- LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
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New demographic report shows statewide population decline slows while housing grows
The state’s population is estimated at 38,940,231 people as of Jan. 1, 2023, the Department of Finance reported.
Over the same period, statewide housing growth increased to 0.85% — its highest level since 2008.
The report found that all but 12 of the state’s counties lost population, with Lake County, at a loss of 0.9%, being among the top 10 counties for the largest amount of lost population.
The report shows Lake County’s population declining over the year from 67,421 to 66,800.
The city of Clearlake’s population declined from 16,545 to 16,364, or 1.1%, while the city of Lakeport saw a 0.8% decrease, from 5,008 to 4,967 residents. The population of the balance of the county dropped from 45,868 to 45,469, or a 0.9% reduction.
California added 123,350 housing units on net, including 20,683 accessory dwelling Units — or ADUs — to bring total housing in the state to 14,707,698 units.
In Lake County, housing units saw a slight increase of 0.2 countywide, increasing from 34,294 to 34,354 units.
In Clearlake units increased by just one, 7,623 to 7,624, for a 0% increase. Lakeport increased from 2,501 to 2,508, or 0.3%, while the remainder of the county saw a 0.2% increase, from 24,170 to 24,222 units.
New construction represents 116,683 housing units with 63,423 single family housing units, 51,787 multifamily housing units, and 1,473 mobile homes.
The 0.35% population decline for 2022, roughly 138,400 persons, marks a slowdown compared to the recent decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between 2021 and 2022, California’s population decreased 0.53% or 207,800 persons, due mainly to sharp declines in natural increase and foreign immigration.
For 2022, natural increase — the net amount of births minus deaths — increased from 87,400 in 2021 to 106,900 in 2022. Births decreased slightly from 420,800 in 2021 to 418,800 in 2022, while deaths declined gradually from 333,300 persons in 2021 to 311,900 persons in 2022, respectively.
Foreign immigration nearly tripled in 2022 compared to the prior year, with a net gain of 90,300 persons in 2022 compared to 31,300 in 2021. While foreign immigration to California has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels, natural increase has not rebounded. Total births remain low due to fertility declines; while deaths have eased gradually from their pandemic peak, they remain elevated.
With slower domestic in-migration and increased domestic out-migration likely the result of work-from-home changes, declines in net domestic migration offset the population gains from natural increase and international migration.
The report contains preliminary year-over-year January 2023 and revised January 2021 and January 2022 population data for California cities, counties, and the state.
These estimates are based on information through Jan. 1, 2023.
Significant changes over the year include:
• Population growth slowed but remained positive in the interior counties of the Central Valley and the Inland Empire, while most counties saw declines, including every coastal county except San Benito (0.2%).
• Only two counties had growth above a half of a percent: Madera (0.6%) and Yuba (0.6%), due to housing gains. The next largest in percentage growth were San Joaquin (0.4%), Merced (0.4%) and Imperial (0.4%) counties.
• Forty-six of the state’s fifty-eight counties lost population. The 10 largest percentage decreases were: Lassen (-4.3%), Del Norte (-1.3%), Plumas (-1.2%), Santa Cruz (-1.0%), Marin (-1.0%), Tehama (-1.0%), Napa (-1.0 %), Lake (-0.9%), Monterey (-0.8%) and Los Angeles (-0.8%).
• The state’s three most populous counties all experienced population loss: Los Angeles declined by 73,293 persons (-0.75%), San Diego by 5,680 persons (-0.2%) and Orange by 14,782 persons (-0.5%).
• The top five cities where housing production drove population growth include: Paradise (24.1%) in Butte County, Lathrop (11.1%) in San Joaquin County, Duarte (6.6%) in Los Angeles County, Wheatland (4.6%) in Yuba County and Shafter (4.3%) in Kern County.
County housing highlights include:
• Yuba had the highest housing growth (2.3%) of all counties, followed by: Placer, Butte, Madera, San Joaquin, Yolo, Alameda, San Benito, Merced and Imperial.
• Twelve counties gained housing at or above 1.0%.
• One county lost housing: Mariposa due to a wildfire in 2022.
• Ranked by net housing gains, Los Angeles (19,556), San Diego (7,034), Oakland (4,005), San Francisco (2,823), and unincorporated Riverside County (2,106) added the most housing units in 2022.
• Larger densely populated urban areas built most of the multifamily housing throughout the state. Los Angeles led the state gaining 12,074 multifamily units, comprising 61.7% of their net housing growth, followed by San Diego (4,568 for 64.9%), Oakland (3,880 for 96.9%), and San Francisco (2,573 for 91.1%).
• Conversely, single family housing is more likely to be built farther inland in typically more suburban cities. Cities with a high proportion of single family growth include: Roseville (100% single family), Santa Clarita (100% single family), Fresno (91.7% single family), and Irvine (71% single family).
Also of note in the report:
• 356 cities lost population, while 125 gained population and one had no change.
• Of the 10 largest cities in California, only three gained population: Sacramento had the largest percentage gain in population (0.2%, or 1,203) followed by Bakersfield (0.2%, or 882) and Fresno (0.1%, or 599).
• Accessory dwelling unit production increased by 60.6%, with the state adding 20,638 ADUs in 2022.
• Group quarters represent 2.4% (926,000) of the total state population. This population includes those living in college dormitories (269,000) and in correctional facilities (168,000). In 2022, California’s group quarters population increased by 11,000 people or 1.2%. The college dormitory population grew by 16,000 (6.2%). Correctional facilities declined in population in 2022 by 4,200 people (-2.5%) across federal, state and local facilities. As college dormitory populations continue to return to a post-pandemic normal, several jurisdictions saw significant gains in population due to this population. The city of Arcata in Humboldt County grew by 4.1% due to a 45.1% increase at Cal Poly Humboldt. The city of Marina in Monterey County grew by 2.5% due to a 12.6% increase at California State University at Monterey Bay.
State prisons are generally located in remote areas; as a result, increases or decreases can account for significant changes in their respective area populations. For example, prison declines led to population decreases in Susanville (-9.5%) in Lassen County, Calipatria (-5.6%) in Imperial County, and Crescent City (-4.4%) in Del Norte County.