CALIFORNIA

POPULATION DENSITY

People per square mile, 2010: 239.1

People per square mile, 2020: 253.7


HISTORIC & PROJECTED GROWTH 1790 TO 2040

Year
Population
1790
0
1800
0
1810
0
1820
0
1830
0
1840
0
1850
92,597
1860
379,994
1870
560,247
1880
864,694
1890
1,213,398
1900
1,485,053
1910
2,377,549
1920
3,426,861
1930
5,677,251
1940
6,907,387
1950
10,586,223
1960
15,717,204
1970
19,971,069
1980
23,667,764
1990
29,760,021
2000
33,871,648
2010
37,253,956
2020
39,538,223
2030
43,751,116
2040
46,467,001

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census & Weldon Cooper Center, Demographics Research Group
(The Census Bureau and Weldon Cooper Center have not yet provided updated State projections to reflect 2020 census numbers.)


Population by County

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census


California Population News Articles

Plans for Costco Mega Gas Station Ignite Anger in California Residents – Jan 1, 2026

California has lost more than a quarter of its immigration judges this year – Dec 29, 2025

Local legislators press state to catch up to feds on Tijuana River pollution clean up – Dec 22, 2025

California sees population growth for third consecutive year after pandemic-era exodus – Dec 19, 2025

San Joaquin Valley among the worst for air pollution in California – Dec 18, 2025

California Lowers Climate Pollution by 3%, Report Finds – Dec 16, 2025

Adapting to Changes in California’s English Learner Population – Aug 22, 2025

Poll: Health care for California's undocumented immigrants gains support amid budget crunch – Aug 22, 2025

PRESS RELEASE: Over 200 Organizations Call for Major Fixes to New CA State Permitting Law To Protect Public Health, Air and Water Quality, and Natural Lands – Aug 13, 2025

Mobile air monitoring program aims to protect California communities from pollution – Aug 8, 2025

California Prepares for Increased Wildfire Risk to Air Quality – Aug 6, 2025

Wildfire season is starting weeks earlier in California – a new study shows how climate change is driving the expansion – Aug 6, 2025

Fire debris is washing up on L.A.’s beaches. County officials warn the public to steer clear – Feb 24, 2025

What Is the Environmental Impact of the California Wildfires? 5 Things to Know – Feb 23, 2025

LA Fires Spark Confusion and Concern Over Water Quality and Supply – Feb 20, 2025

California Faces 'Unprecedented' Population Shift – Feb 12, 2025

California farmworker explains how undocumented immigrants find work – Feb 5, 2025

‘Hotter, Drier, and More Flammable”: New Study Finds Climate Change Played a Role in LA Fires – Feb 4, 2025

Watch: Dangers of extreme heat in Inland California – Oct 30, 2024

Warehouses Drive Air Pollution Spike in California, NASA Study Finds – Oct 11. 2024

Homeless population grows in California’s most populous city – Oct 8, 2024

Tijuana River Sewage Contamination a 'Public Health Crisis' – Feb 15, 2024

New study warns of worsening air pollution in California due to wildfires – Feb 14, 2024

California’s air pollution fight just got tougher: New EPA standards raise the bar on soot – Feb 7, 2024

California Sees Surge in Chinese Migrants – Feb 8, 2024

Why record rain hasn’t washed away California’s water woes – Feb 6, 2024

Recent reports reinforce migration trends out of LA, California – Jan 26, 2024

Sweeping California water conservation rules could force big cuts in some areas – September 7, 2023

Climate change makes wildfires in California more explosive – August 30, 2023

Sustained exposure to wildfire smoke reducing life expectancy in parts of California: report – August 29, 2023

Tropical Storm Hilary and Maui Fires Show Climate Change is Worsening Homelessness – August 24, 2023

How climate change shaped California’s first tropical storm in decades – August 21, 2023

Salmon fishing to be banned in California and part of Oregon after a drought and weakened protections decimated the fish population - Mar 24, 2023

What Does All This Rain Mean for California’s Drought? – Mar 23, 2023

California's punishing winter storms pummel monarch butterfly population – Mar 17, 2023

2 California cities have worst air pollution in US: study – Mar 13, 2023

Tijuana River sewage may be contaminating air along Southern California coast: study – Mar 2, 2023

As California begins monitoring microplastics in water, experts brace for health impacts – September 23, 2022

California plans to phase out new gas heaters by 2030 – September 23, 2022

Rising homelessness is tearing California cities apart – September 21, 2022

Where Los Angeles ranks among California’s most polluted cities – September 11, 2022

California says the beaver can be superhero in fighting climate change – September 7, 2022

California housing and the super commuter problem – June 10, 2022

Parts of Southern California used 26% more water in April, despite conservation pleas – June 7, 2022

These are the impacts of California's worst drought on record – Jun 7, 2022

4 Factors Affecting Air Pollution in California – June 2, 2022

Disaster upon disaster: Wildfires are contaminating the West’s depleting water with ashy sludge – May 29, 2022

Environmental Groups Ask California to Stop Subsidizing the Dairy Industry – February 8, 2022

Global warming could cause more California blackouts in the next decade – February 7, 2022

Climate change whiplash could mean more flooding, water-management challenges in California – January 28, 2022

Wealthy California District to Restrict Water for Residents Consistently Overusing Supply – January 19, 2022

Study: Nearly 400,000 Californians lack safe drinking water, often due to ag pollution – January 12, 2022

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