California’s population has grown by over 67-thousand people last year, for a total of over 39-million people. That’s according to the state Department of Finance. This marks the first increase since before the pandemic. The population increase was due to a rebound in legal foreign immigration, more people moving into the state and fewer people moving out. There was also a net increase in population due to more births than deaths, with the number of deaths declining from their pandemic peak. Sonoma County’s population is actually moving in the opposite direction. We saw a decrease of about point-three percent in 2023, and our population has shrunk each year since 2016.
