California's Population Bump Won't Make Up for Its Long-term Slide

California's Population Bump Won't Make Up for Its Long-term Slide

When the U.S. Census Bureau recently revealed a small increase in California’s population, it came as a welcome sign to some that the state was growing again. Good news, right? Unfortunately, not good enough. Last year’s count still leaves the state’s numbers below where they stood in 2020, and its growth rate is below the national average and well below that of key competitor states: Comparing census numbers from 2010 to 2024, California’s popu…