California Population 2024

California is a large state on the west coast of the United States that is home to one of the world's most diverse populations. At the last official United States census carried out in 2020, the population of California was declared at 39,538,223 which makes the state the most populous by a wide margin over 2nd place Texas (29 million).

Much of the population is centered in several large cities. California contains the second largest city (Los Angeles), 3 of the largest 10 cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose), and the largest county (Los Angeles County) in the United States.

By 2030, the population is projected to surpass 42 million. Population growth has decreased in recent years, which may affect these projections.

California Area and Population Density

California is the 3rd largest state by area, putting its population density at 251.3 per square mile, which ranks 11th in the country.

California Gender and Religion Statistics

The median age in California is 36 years, with 50.3% of the population being female and 49.6% being male.

In religious terms, 63% of Californians associate with a Christian based faith, 9% are affiliated with non-Christian faiths, and have a rate of 27% unaffiliated individuals.

California Boundary, Census and Statehood History

California has a healthy natural growth rate and the gap between the birth rate and death rate is quite significant. Between 2000 and 2009, 5,058,440 births and 2,179,958 deaths resulted in a natural growth of 3,090,016.

Another significant factor for the California population is immigration: California had huge appeal in the days of the Gold Rush and that fact holds true today. Between those years of 2000 and 2009, the state enjoyed a net migration gain of 306,925 people. It’s also been estimated that up to approximately 6.3% of California’s population is made up of illegal immigrants.

California is larger than all but 35 countries in the world. It is also the second most populous national sub-entity, behind only Sao Paulo of Brazil.

California was the 31st in line to be admitted as a State in 1850. The historical first census of this state is noted because California also conducted a state census in 1852 in addition to the federal census of 1850. Both results are included in the 1850 census publications. The federal census of 1850 is missing Contra Costa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties. They are included in the 1852 state census however.

California Population History

California was part of the region acquired from Mexico in 1848, and was admitted as a State on September 9, 1850 with essentially its present boundaries.

Although the 1850 census covered the whole State, the 1850 returns are incomplete; those for Contra Costa and Santa Clara Counties were lost before reaching Washington, and those for San Francisco County were destroyed by fire.

California Population Growth

The population of California in 2016 is growing at an above-average rate and an estimate carried out in 2015 suggests that there has been an increase from the 2010 Census figure of 37,253,956 to numbers in the region of 39,144,818.

In 1850 there were just 92,597 people living in California, but the gold rush of the mid-19th century was primarily responsible for a rise of over 300% to 379,994. The population of California continued to grow at a steadier rate but increases in excess of 50% between ten-year censuses were not uncommon.

After World War II, the California population in 1950 was declared at 10,586,223, and it has been growing exponentially ever since. Ten years later in 1960, it was 15,717,204, and in 1970 that had grown to 19,953,134. From there, the numbers have been increasing at similar rates.

California has seen growth in every ten-year period of its history, and was officially determined to be most populous state in the 1970 Census, claiming the mantle from New York. It has remained the biggest state for nearly a half-century by posting consistently high growth rates from year to year.

California Population Projections

California is still growing and although it is difficult to track down any predictions, there is no reason to suggest that this growth will slow down. As such, could the population of California continue the trend and explode beyond the 40 million mark by the time of the next Census in 2020? If the current rate of growth continues, California's population may even approach 41 million by 2020.

Increasing immigration has led to a diverse set of ethnic groups within California itself and at the 2010 Census, 57.6% of the population claimed to be white, while 40.1% were non-Hispanic white. 13% were Asian and 6.2% Black. The remaining ethnic groups consisted of Native American, Hispanic, Latino and others. These numbers had changed significantly by 2016, with estimates putting 73.2% of the population as white, 38.5% as non-Hispanic white, 14.4% Asian, and 6.5% black.

In 2014, estimates showed that the Latino and Hispanic population surpassed the population of non-Hispanic Whites. According to those estimates, taken in June 2014, 14.99 million Latinos resided in the state, compared to 14.92 whites. California has the largest minority population and the largest Hispanic population in the country.

The most populous state is also one of the most racially diverse, boasting the largest population of whites in the US, the largest number of Native Americans, and the fifth largest population of African Americans. The Asian population, which is approaching 5 million, makes up about one-third of the nation's total Asian American population.

• All of the banks in San Francisco survived the 1929 stock market crash.
• The first McDonald's fast food restaurant was opened in San Bernardino, California, in 1948.
• The world's largest landlocked harbor is the San Francisco Bay.
• The hottest temperature on Earth was recorded at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley in 1913. The temperature was 134 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Over half of the acreage used to grow fruit in the United States is located in California, which is a leader in growing strawberries, grapes, peaches, plums, nectarines and other produce.
• The tallest living tree -- which measures an astounding 379.1 feet -- is a redwood tree located in Redwood National Park.
• There are 282 state parks in California, the most of any state.
• California has a total of 58 counties.
• Approximately 8% of Californians are vegetarians.