San Diego’s ‘Tremendous Growth’
The stunning growth of San Diego County is news to no one. What is surprising, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, is how the city and county compare with others around the country.
Taking a look at the current top 10 cities in the country, Celia Boertlein of the Census Bureau said San Diego is “No. 1 in the nation” in terms of “tremendous growth.”
Between 1975 and 1980, San Diego netted more “in-migrants” (people moving into the city from someplace else) than any other city in the country. In addition, Boertlein said recent figures, not as extensive as those of the 1980 census, indicate that San Diego’s growth not only hasn’t slipped but has continued “almost unabated.”
(The city recently topped the 1 million mark in population, according to the San Diego Assn. of Governments.)
In the five-year period studied in the 1980 census, the City of San Diego took in 324,575 new residents, while losing 265,860, for a net gain of 58,715.
In separate figures compiled by the county, San Diego County (198,736) scored high but finished behind Harris County, Texas, (the greater Houston area) in terms of net gain. Other counties showing big gains were Maricopa County, Ariz. (Phoenix); Dallas County, Texas (Dallas), and Broward County, Fla. (Fort Lauderdale).
In California, Orange County netted 113,871 new residents for the five-year period last documented by the census and Los Angeles County posted a net gain of 22,984.
CITY IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET GAIN/ POPULATION LOSS FLANK San Diego 324,575 265,860 +58,715 (8) San Antonio 121,874 171,252 +49,378 (10) Phoenix 228,889 182,455 +46,434 (9) Houston 393,015 411,630 -18,615 (4) Los Angeles/Long Beach 814,071 836,536 -22,465 (2) Dallas/Ft. Worth 291,469 356,563 -65,094 (7) Philadelphia 133,725 244,946 -111,221 (5) Detroit 113,773 278,848 -165,075 (6) Chicago 297,731 573,360 -275,629 (3) New York 662,984 1,022,487 -359,503 (1)
* Numbers in parentheses indicated the city’s population rank. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
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