California’s Population Fell Again Amid Pandemic’s 2nd Year, After years of steady population growth that put California close to having 40 million residents, the state’s population is back to where it was in 2016. California’s population shrank for the second year in a row in 2021 as the nation’s most populous state was hit by declining birth rates, higher deaths from the pandemic and fewer people moving into the state. California lost 117,552 people in 2021, putting its population to 39,185,605. That’s still the largest state population in the country ahead of second-place Texas. California’s population declined for the first time in 2020, the result of a multi-year slow-down in growth that led to the state losing a seat in Congress after the 2020 U.S. Census. Thirty-four of the state’s 58 counties lost people last year.
