There has been a lot of hand-wringing about the declining population of Los Angeles County, which lost 54,000 people from July 2024 to July 2025, the biggest numeric population drop in the nation during that period, by far.
But Santa Clarita, 45 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, is booming.
My colleague Terry Castleman reported this week that Santa Clarita “has been L.A. County’s growth champion of the last 25 years,” according to a Times analysis of U.S. Census data.
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From 2010 to 2024, Santa Clarita’s population grew 33% — explosive growth that came in part because, unlike overbuilt Los Angeles, the city has access to more open space for new residential development.
But behind that jaw-dropping increase is some nuance, Castleman reported. Data show that Newhall census county division, which includes the broader Santa Clarita Valley, grew only 9% over that 14-year span, suggesting that while the region grew significantly, most of the city’s growth came from absorbing residents of nearby unincorporated areas.
A growing city, trying to keep up
Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste told Castleman that the city has experienced some growing pains also and feels pressure from the state to add even more housing.
The city, she said, has built 43 parks and acquired 16,000 acres of open space to try to keep up with all the new residents. Asked about her city’s growth, Weste joked: “Shocker. Where else are you gonna find a place [like this]? It’s a lot of fun to live here.”
Homes under construction at the Sand Canyon Village project in the Canyon Country neighborhood of Santa Clarita, Calif., on June 27.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The north L.A. County boom doesn’t appear to be slowing, Castleman reported. Developers have long wanted to build a whole new community in the Tejon Pass near the Kern County line, though the Centennial project, as it’s called, has been mired in regulatory and legal challenges — and concerns about fire risk — for years.
The trade off: a crummy commute
Many are drawn to the north County for its newer and more affordable housing. The median sale price of a home in Santa Clarita, per Zillow, is $781,500, compared with a median sale price of more than $1 million in the city of Los Angeles.
But the tradeoff, for many, is an excessively long commute.
Despite the availability of commuter buses and Metrolink rail services, many still drive to jobs in Los Angeles and surrounding communities because of differing work schedules and the need to travel to places not close to public transit stops.
A longtime Santa Clarita resident weighs in
My colleague Jeff Amlotte, a Times video journalist, has lived in Santa Clarita since 1999, commuting, at first, to the newspaper’s former downtown headquarters and now daily to the newsroom in El Segundo.
It takes him about 90 minutes to get to work in the mornings. If he leaves for home between 4 and 6 p.m., the drive takes two hours in stop-and-go traffic — at least.
“Bottom line, it is very tough to commute in this city,” Amlotte, 57, said of greater Los Angeles. But he has several neighbors with similar commutes. One travels even farther than him, from Santa Clarita to Long Beach.
A bicyclist rides past fall colors on the Santa Clara River Trail in Santa Clarita.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
When Amlotte moved to Santa Clarita at age 30, he was able to buy his first home: a three-bedroom townhouse that he customized while it was still under construction. He has paid off his home and can’t imagine going deep into debt to buy something in L.A.
The city, he said, has always felt new and clean and attractive to families and people buying their first homes. But, watching the new neighborhoods spring up, he worries whether there is enough water for the arid region, and the risk of wildfires.
“When I was growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita was considered, to me and my friends, way out in the boondocks,” he said, laughing. “It really isn’t way out there, but the traffic makes it a different story.”
Today’s top stories 
The Physics South building, formerly called LeConte Hall, at UC Berkeley on June 27.
(Don Feria / For The Times)
UC weighs the return of standardized testingThe University of California is weighing a return to standardized testing following intense pressure from faculty who say incoming students lack basic math and reasoning skills.The debate comes as UC increasingly stands as a national outlier in its refusal to consider SAT and ACT scores.Scores of dementia patients are set to be evictedNearly 100 dementia patients at a beloved Redondo Beach memory care home face eviction after a health district board votes to raze their facility for a lucrative redevelopment.Families and physicians warn that uprooting residents with Alzheimer’s can trigger dangerous decline, while a severe shortage of specialized beds in the South Bay deepens a looming public health crisis.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsOn Skid Row, it’s been decades of frustration. Columnist Steve Lopez asks, will the next mayor have a plan? California Rep. Jared Huffman is the rare American who flatly states he does not believe in God. What makes him rarer still is his place in Congress, writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak.
This morning’s must-readOther must-readsFor your downtime 
The Yala latte, made with a cardamom-spiced cream top, at Yala coffee shop, with locations in Studio City and Silver Lake.
(Shelby Moore / For the Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: What’s the craziest beach setup that you’ve seen?
Jeanette H. writes: The craziest beach set up I have seen was at Zuma Beach.
A group of 10 ladies dressed in flowered dresses and hats had a roll-up company set up their two long tables, all of two feet high, and pillows with a large umbrella on each table for a bridal shower event. They hoisted wine glasses for a toast, but I couldn’t tell if they were breaking the no-alcohol rule. Then at 4 p.m., the company pulled up in black vans and hauled it all away. Their perspective of a beach day was wild. Meanwhile, I had my towel, beach chair and small igloo for a day at the beach.
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And finally … your photo of the day 
Fans wait for the start of an MLB game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Eric Thayer at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday during the 4-3 loss to the Rockies.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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