Despite all the noise surrounding the “California exodus,” or mass migration out of the country’s most populous state, California grew in population in 2024 — although that growth wasn’t massive.
The United States Census Bureau’s 2024 population estimates show that The Golden State is still on top for the U.S. — as expected.
About 39,431,263 live in California, as of July 1 of this year. That number was 39,198,693 on the same date in 2023 — meaning that the population increased by about 232,570 people, according to the Census Bureau.
Now, that’s still more than 120,000 short of where the state was in 2020, as pandemic job losses combined with rising housing costs and ideological differences relating to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the population decline in the next couple of years. That dip caused the state to lose a congressional seat.
But with the new data, it appears as if the dust has settled from the pandemic and California is still in a steady spot. While California lost more people through domestic migration (from state to state) than any other state (-239,575), it gained more through international migration (361,057) than any other state besides Florida.
California was one of 33 states that had a natural increase, meaning that more people were born than died during the 12-month period. The state’s population naturally increased by 110,466.
That loss in domestic migration, however, could still set off red flags to the state government. A study conducted in October showed that a majority of California residents have considered leaving the state at one point.
Politics could, of course, be in play with that figure — as the heavily Republican South is easily the fastest-growing region in the country. While California is solid blue, it still has the highest population of Republicans in the country and many mainstream politicians, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the “exodus.”
In a celebratory response to the new numbers, however, Newsom’s office simply called the return a positive population growth a response to the pandemic.
“With increasing international migration and deaths returning to long-term trends, a stable foundation for growth continues,” a news release reads in part. “California is likely to experience gradual but positive growth for the near future as net domestic migration is expected to recede to the lower rates of the 2010s.”
