Population Statistics of California
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California has the largest population of any state in the nation. The table below compares the "top ten" most populous states in the country. Note that the population growth of California is about medium for the country, but the 6% growth rate with it's large population means that more people are moving to California than any other state (based on 2004 US Census projections). If the population growth rate continues at 6%, California's population should reach 50 million people shortly after 2025.
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| Population of top ten most populous states in the United States. |
(Source: US Census Bureau data for California from the 2000 Census, with estimates for 2004) |
| State |
Population (7/1/2004) |
Population (4/1/2000) |
Percent Change |
| California |
35,893,799 |
33,871,653 |
6.0% |
| Texas |
22,490,022 |
20,851,790 |
7.9% |
| New York |
19,227,088 |
18,976,821 |
1.3% |
| Florida |
17,397,161 |
15,982,824 |
8.8% |
| Illinois |
12,713,634 |
12,419,647 |
2.4% |
| Pennsylvania |
12,406,292 |
12,281,054 |
1.0% |
| Ohio |
11,459,011 |
11,353,145 |
0.9% |
| Michigan |
10,112,620 |
9,938,480 |
1.8% |
| New Jersey |
8,698,879 |
8,414,347 |
3.4% |
| North Carolina |
8,046,491 |
8,541,221 |
6.1% |
| USA (Total) |
293,655,404 |
281,424,602 |
4.3% |
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| Comparison of the top ten largest metropolitan regions in the United States. |
| Metropolitan Region |
Population (2000) |
Population (1990) |
Percent Change |
| Greater New York City Region (NY,NJ,CT,PA) |
21,199,865 |
19,549,649 |
8.4% |
| Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County (CA) |
16,373,645 |
14,531,529 |
12.7% |
| Chicago-Gary-Kenosha (IL,IN,WS) |
9,157,540 |
8,239,820 |
11.1% |
| Washington-Baltimore (DC,MD,VA,WV) |
7,608,070 |
6,727,050 |
13.1% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (CA) |
7,039,362 |
6,253,311 |
12.6% |
| Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City (PA,NJ,DE,MD) |
6,188,462 |
5,892,937 |
5.0% |
| Boston-Worcester-Lawrence (MA,NH,ME,CT) |
5,819,100 |
5,344,403 |
6.7% |
| Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint (MI) |
5,456,428 |
5,187,171 |
5.2% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (TX) |
5,221,801 |
4,037,282 |
29.3% |
| Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (TX) |
4,669,571 |
3,731,131 |
25.2% |
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| California's largest cities. |
| California Cities |
Population (2000) |
Area (sq. mi) (2000) |
Ranked (all US) |
| Los Angeles |
3,694,820 |
469.1 |
2 |
| San Diego |
1,223,400 |
324.4 |
7 |
| San Jose |
894,943 |
174.9 |
11 |
| San Francisco |
776,733 |
46.7 |
13 |
| Long Beach |
461,522 |
50.4 |
34 |
| Fresno |
427,652 |
104.4 |
37 |
| Sacramento |
407,018 |
97.2 |
40 |
| Oakland |
399,484 |
56.1 |
41 |
| Santa Ana |
337,977 |
27.1 |
50 |
| Anaheim |
328,014 |
48.9 |
54 |
| Riverside |
255,166 |
78.1 |
66 |
| Bakersfield |
247,057 |
113.1 |
68 |
| Stockton |
243,771 |
54.7 |
69 |
| Fremont City |
203,413 |
76.7 |
84 |
| Glendale |
194,973 |
30.6 |
97 |
| Huntington Beach |
189,594 |
26.4 |
100 |
| Modesto |
188,856 |
35.8 |
101 |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey