California's population has been steadily declining since 2020. According to data collected by KTLA, 500,000 people have left the Golden State within the last three years, and the numbers continue to decline across multiple counties. A whopping 113,649 people moved from California from 2021 to 2022 alone. The counties losing the most residents are places where cost of living and inflation are highest. The areas experiencing the most dramatic decline in population are Los Angeles and San Francisco.
KTLA mentioned that 90,000 people left the Los Angeles area from July 2021 to July 2022. While these counties are shrinking at a quicker pace than most, over half of the state's counties are also experiencing a substantial decline in population. A Flourish chart created by Travis Schlepp shows which counties lost the most residents, and which counties actually gained residents from July 2021 to July 2022.
As you can see, Los Angeles, Alameda, and Orange counties lost the most residents by far. On the other hand, Yolo, Santa Barbara, and San Joaquin counties gained residents during the statewide decline. Nevada, Yuba, and San Diego counties barely lost or gained any residents in a year's time. KTLA noted that while California lost the most residents from 2021 to 2022, New York experienced the highest percentage decline.