California Population Rises to 39.529 Million in Third Straight Year of Growth: Finance Department Estimates
SACRAMENTO — The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on October 22 that annual July population estimates released by the California Department of Finance show the state's population grew to 39,529,000, a third consecutive year of growth. The Governor's office said the result signals a continued return to long-term demographic stability after two pandemic-era declines.
According to the estimates released by the Governor's office, international immigration contributed an estimated 126,000 people to California's population from 2024 to 2025. It remained a significant driver of growth, but at roughly half the level of the previous year, which the Governor's office attributed to federal restrictions on legal immigration. Births added 108,300 people over the same period, as births remained stable.
In a statement, Newsom said three years of population growth sends a simple message: California is still the place people choose. He cited the world's fourth-largest economy, leading universities and research hubs, and industries ranging from entertainment and agriculture to technology and clean energy.
The Governor's office release also listed crime and tax comparisons: since 2019, property crime, arson, burglary, and robbery rates have all decreased in California, and from 2023 to 2024 the violent crime rate fell 6%, the homicide rate fell 10.4%, and the motor vehicle theft rate fell 15.2%. The release also cited an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy brief finding that California taxes are close to the national average for families in the bottom 80 percent of the income scale.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Sacramento 的加州州议会大厦。照片：经 Wikimedia Commons，CC0。 / The California State Capitol in Sacramento. Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
