SACRAMENTO – California’s population increased by 67,000 people last year to 39,128,162, according to new data released last week by the California Department of Finance (DOF). The state’s population growth can be attributed to an increase in legal foreign immigration and natural population increasing. This is the first year since 2020 that the state has seen a net increase.

“People from across the nation and the globe are coming to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream and experience the success of the world’s 5th largest economy. From the Inland Empire to the Bay Area, regions throughout California are growing – strengthening local communities and boosting our state's future,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

With the improvement of federal legal immigration processing backlogs, rebounding legal immigration levels – not including people seeking asylum at the border – and mortality rates returning to long-term trends, a stable foundation for continued growth has returned. Net domestic migration has receded to its lower rates of the 2010s, and DOF estimates California is likely to experience continued positive population growth.

The report contains preliminary year-over-year January 2024 and revised January 2021 through January 2023 population data for California cities, counties, and the state. These estimates are based on information through January 1, 2024.