County’s 1997 Population Increases 1.4%

After recording its lowest growth rate in decades, Ventura County is seeing its population bounce back, according to state figures released Wednesday.

Although Ventura County’s 1.4% growth rate in 1997 means 38 of California’s 58 counties grew faster, the increase from 721,000 people at the beginning of 1997 to 730,800 on Jan. 1 signals a humming economy.

Ventura County now ranks as the 12th-largest county in the state, its 9,800 new residents representing California’s 15th-largest population increase in calendar year 1997.

“It sounds like it’s picking up again,” said Steve Wood, Ventura County’s population analyst, comparing the numbers with the county’s 0.4% growth rate in 1996--the lowest in decades. “I don’t know why they’re coming here. . . . I guess El Nino didn’t keep them away.”

As it has in previous years, Moorpark had the county’s fastest growth rate, according to the annual estimates released by the state Department of Finance.

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Between Jan. 1, 1997, and the beginning of this year, Moorpark’s population rose from 28,550 to 29,300, a 2.6% increase.

Camarillo was second with a 2.4% climb that brought its population to 60,200 as of Jan. 1. Thousand Oaks followed, with its population increasing 2,200--to 115,700, a 1.9% increase.

The county’s largest city, Oxnard, posted a 1.5% growth rate that raised its population to 156,000.

Overall, the county’s growth rate was just below the state’s 1.8% increase in population.

“It’s a good healthy growth rate,” state Department of Finance spokeswoman Linda Gage said. “It’s good, strong managed growth, much as it is in the rest of the state.”

The state’s population estimates come from the likes of city documents, Medicare records, driver license applications and Internal Revenue Service documents. They are based on births and deaths, legal immigration and people moving in and out of the state and county.

The estimates not only help cities and counties plan, they help determine the amount of motor vehicle and gas tax that cities receive, officials say.

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Department of Finance officials said the state’s population increase reflects a continued turnaround in the exodus of Californians to other states.

In Ventura County, as elsewhere, more people moving in would mean an increased demand for housing and escalating housing prices, Wood said.

Of the state’s 471 cities, 446 gained population, 14 had no change and 11 cities had their populations drop. Among them was the city of Port Hueneme, where the population dropped by 50 residents, to 22,550.

But with no undeveloped land within the city limits and nowhere left to expand for new housing, growth is expected to be relatively static there, fluctuating year to year depending on what missions are underway at the Navy base.

In Moorpark, it’s a different story.

Since its incorporation in 1983, Moorpark has consistently been one of the fastest-growing cities in the county, said Nelson Miller, Moorpark’s director of community development.

Last year, much of the growth could be attributed to the 2,451-home Mountain Meadows project, a development now nearing completion that was approved by the Board of Supervisors before the city’s incorporation.

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“Actually, growth has slowed down in the last couple of years as this project and a couple of others projects have been built out and completed,” Miller said.

Elsewhere in the county, Simi Valley grew 1.6% to 106,000; Fillmore 1.2% to 13,050; and Ventura and Santa Paula 0.9% to 101,500 and 26,900, respectively.

Ojai’s population grew by 50 people, to 8,150, an 0.6% increase.

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Changes in County Population

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Area Jan. 1, 1997 Jan. 1, 1998 Pct. change Camarillo 58,800 60,200 2.4% Fillmore 12,900 13,050 1.2% Moorpark 28,550 29,300 2.6% Ojai 8,100 8,150 0.6% Oxnard 153,700 156,000 1.5% Port Hueneme 22,600 22,550 -0.2% Ventura 100,600 101,500 0.9% Santa Paula 26,650 26,900 0.9% Simi Valley 104,300 106,000 1.6% Thousand Oaks 113,500 115,700 1.9% Unincorporated 91,200 91,500 0.3% Ventura County 721,000 730,800 1.4% Los Angeles County 9,470,900 9.603,300 1.4% State of California 32,670,000 33,252,000 1.8%

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Source: California State Department of Finance