California’s population growth has hit record lows over 25 years, driven by a housing crisis. State efforts, including new legislation and a $10 billion housing bond<\/p>\n
SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 California had its slowest rate of population growth ever recorded over a two-and-a-half-decade period, according to\u00a0a new report<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the Golden State has been losing residents to other states for almost 25 years.<\/p>\n From 2010 to 2024, almost 10 million residents moved out of California to other parts of the country, while just over 7 million were coming in from other parts of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though California’s overall population continues to climb. According to\u00a0a separate PPIC report<\/a>, California\u2019s population grew by 5.8% from 2010 to 2020, according to decennial census counts. This was slower than the national growth rate of 6.8%.<\/p>\n Despite the 25-year slowdown, California remains the most populous state, with millions more than the next-closest state, Texas, and is expected to grow to 40.5 million by 2040. The state only experienced a population decrease during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The PPIC cites housing as the primary reason people are leaving California, an issue that has dominated the state capitol’s focus.<\/p>\n Last year. Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law that implemented a number of reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act designed to roll back regulations to speed up housing production.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most consequential housing reform that we\u2019ve seen in modern history in the state of California,\u201d Newsom said when he signed the pieces of legislation in June of last year.<\/p>\n Housing and addressing the high cost of living are slated to be key focuses in the legislature this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n At his State of the State address earlier this year, Newsom described housing costs as \u201cCalifornia\u2019s original sin,\u201d and said the state must continue clearing regulatory barriers, pushing local governments to build and modernizing environmental review. This year, he said, the focus includes reducing construction costs and preventing institutional investors from dominating the housing market.<\/p>\n