State’s Population at Peak but Growth Rate Is Slowing

Sometime between mid-1993 and mid-1994, California’s population surpassed 32 million for the first time, but the rate of growth continued to slow down, as it has throughout the recent recession years, state officials reported Friday.

As of last July 1, the state was home to 32,140,000 people, according to official estimates by the Department of Finance, an increase of 394,000 over 12 months. Since 1990, when the current recession began, population growth has continued but at a progressively slower pace, the state demographers reported. By 1993-94, the rate of growth had slowed to 1.2%, lower than at any time since 1971-72, also a recession period.

In the latest population estimates, coastal urban counties tended to be in the low-growth categories. Los Angeles County grew 0.47%, Orange County 1.43% and Ventura County 1.39%. Relatively high growth occurred in Imperial County--6.37%--and the central inland mountain counties. The figures include estimates of illegal immigration, officials said.