California’s Population Rises 582,000 in Second Year of Growth
California gained 582,000 more people than it lost in 1997, according to Department of Finance figures released Wednesday.
The growth--the second year of gains, after five years of losing population--put the state’s population at 33,252,000, as of January 1998.
Los Angeles remained far and away the state’s largest county, with about 9.6 million residents. San Diego, with 2.8 million, was second and Orange, with 2.7 million, was third.
Kings County recorded the largest percentage growth--5.2%--while Los Angeles drew in the most newcomers, with 132,000 new residents.
Tell the U-Haul people about it. Los Angeles was the company’s No. 1 destination city in 1997, for the second year in a row. Anaheim was sixth among destinations, San Diego eighth, Sacramento ninth, Van Nuys 11th, San Jose 15th, San Francisco 26th, Oakland 35th, and San Bernardino, Fremont and Concord were 47th, 48th and 49th, respectively.
The state numbers are watched for a number of reasons--not the least of which is that they can affect how much money local governments are authorized to spend.
Communities may find their spending limits increased if they have seen population growth (although they will usually get at least as much as they got the year before, even if their population shrinks).
The state population figures also matter when figuring how much needs to be spent on roads, sewers and other public improvements.
The Kings County community of Corcoran had the honor of being the state’s fastest-growing city, with a 22% population increase in 1997. But don’t bother looking for 3,011 of the 3,100 new faces in Corcoran: They belong to inmates at the new state prison and substance abuse treatment facility.
