California, Here They Come--but Not to Los Angeles

More people are moving into California than leaving for other states for the first time since 1991--but it’s not true for Los Angeles, a new study has found.

The San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Sacramento are growing again because of to migration from other states of people lured by new jobs, said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy.

California will gain at least 25,000 people in what is called “domestic net migration” in the year between June 30, 1996, and July 1 of next year, the Palo Alto center forecasts. That reverses a trend begun in 1991 that saw the state lose residents to other states for the first time in history.

Even in that time, the overall state population has continued to rise because of births and immigration from other countries.

Los Angeles County still is losing population to other states, Levy said--an estimated 77,000 in the last year. But he said the trend is easing--the net loss was 127,000 in 1993-94--and the region could begin to add from other states over the next two years.

The hyped movement of Californians to the state of Washington is also slowing. In 1994, this state gave up a net of 16,617 residents to Seattle and environs, based on driver’s license transfers, but last year the northward shift was down to 5,991.