California population: the largest state, now barely changing

How many people live in California, and is the number falling?

California's population reached its highest July estimate, 39,547,995, in 2019. It then dropped to 39,152,927 by July 2021, recovered part of the loss to 39,364,774 in 2024, and slipped to 39,355,309 in 2025. The change in the last year, −9,465, was the lowest in the nation in absolute terms: California was one of 5 states that lost population between July 2024 and July 2025¹.

Source: Census Bureau, Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population for States, 2000-2010; Census Bureau, Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population for States, 2010-2020; Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. July 1 estimates: intercensal series for 2000–2019, Vintage 2025 for 2020–2025.

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Year	California
2000	33,987,977
2001	34,479,458
2002	34,871,843
2003	35,253,159
2004	35,574,576
2005	35,827,943
2006	36,021,202
2007	36,250,311
2008	36,604,337
2009	36,961,229
2010	37,322,523
2011	37,651,212
2012	37,971,412
2013	38,292,557
2014	38,637,421
2015	38,966,939
2016	39,223,789
2017	39,424,315
2018	39,535,920
2019	39,547,995
2020	39,527,808
2021	39,152,927
2022	39,125,347
2023	39,181,667
2024	39,364,774
2025	39,355,309

The decline is small next to the state's size. California still has 11.51% of all US residents, and second-placed Texas had 31,709,821. Since the April 2020 census base the population has changed by −200,394, the 2nd lowest change of any state, almost level with New York (−201,269¹).

These are estimates, not counts, and each December's release revises the earlier years.

Three forces pulling in different directions

Population change is births minus deaths, plus net migration from other states, plus net migration from abroad. In California the first and third are positive and the second is strongly negative.

In the year to June 2025 the state recorded 398,632 births and 288,917 deaths, both the highest in the nation by count, for a natural increase of 109,715, the 2nd highest after Texas. Relative to population, the death rate of 7.3 per 1,000 residents is the 3rd lowest of any state, while the birth rate (10.1 per 1,000 residents) is 5% below the US figure (10.6 per 1,000 residents)¹.

Net domestic migration was −229,077, the lowest in the nation for the fifth year running: −470,759 in 2021, −344,130 in 2022, −343,891 in 2023 and −241,611 in 2024. The losses have shrunk since 2021. Scaled by population, the 2025 figure of −5.8 per 1,000 residents is only the 5th lowest¹ rate, so several smaller states lose a larger share of their residents to the rest of the country.

What changed in 2025 was immigration. Net international migration fell from 312,761 in the year to June 2024 to 109,278 in the year to June 2025. In 2024 arrivals from abroad more than covered the domestic loss and total net migration was 71,150; in 2025 it was −119,799, the lowest in the nation¹.

Over the whole period from April 2020 to June 2025, births exceeded deaths by 531,304 and net international migration added 973,812, but net domestic migration was −1,691,867. That domestic loss is the lowest in the nation; New York is next, at −1,106,013¹.

California population by decade, 1850 to 2020

The first census to count the present state, in 1850, found 92,597 people, 30th of 38 among the areas counted. California was 21st of 51 in 1900 with 1,485,053, 2nd of 51 in 1950 with 10,586,223, and first in the nation from the 1970 Census (19,953,134¹¹) onward.

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990; Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment results and historical resident population 1910-2020; Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Census counts every ten years (April 1); estimates for July 1 after 2020.

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Year	California
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	19,953,134
1980	23,667,902
1990	29,760,021
2000	33,871,648
2010	37,253,956
2020	39,538,223
2021	39,152,927
2022	39,125,347
2023	39,181,667
2024	39,364,774
2025	39,355,309

The 2000 Census counted 33,871,648, the 2010 Census 37,253,956 and the 2020 Census 39,538,223. California now has 3.7 times¹ as many residents as in 1950. Growth had already slowed before the recent dip: between 2010 and 2020 the state grew 6.1%, 1.3 percentage points below the US figure (7.4%)⁶. After the 2020 Census the state's House delegation went to 52 seats (−1), still the most in the nation¹².

Hispanic and Mexican-origin Californians

Hispanic or Latino residents, of any race, are the largest group in California: 41.2% in 2025, 20.7 percentage points above the US figure (20.5%) and up from 40.8% in 2024². The Census Bureau's population estimates put the share at 41.2%, the 2nd highest of any state after New Mexico¹³. The 2020 Census had already counted more Hispanic residents (39.4%) than non-Hispanic white residents (34.7%¹⁴).

Most of them trace their origin to Mexico. Over 2020–2024, people of Mexican origin made up 32.3% of the whole state population, 21.0 percentage points above the US figure (11.3%); within the margins of error California ranks between 1st and 2nd on that share. Central Americans were 4.1%, 2.1 percentage points above the US figure (2.0%)¹⁵.

Some Hispanic Californians also report Indigenous Latin American roots. In the 2020 Census the most frequent American Indian group response in the state was Aztec, a Latin American Indian category, reported alone or in combination by 216,155 people, ahead of Cherokee (126,202¹⁶). These are overlapping write-in responses and should not be added together.

White, Black and multiracial residents

Non-Hispanic white residents were 31.6% of the population in 2025, down from 32.6% in 2024². In the population estimates the share is 32.5%, the 2nd lowest of any state and down from 35.4% in 2020¹³. The answer to "what percent of California is white" depends on the definition: counting everyone who reported white alone or with another race, including many Hispanic residents, the share is 56.0%¹⁷.

Single group (adds to 100%)Alone or in combination with other races

Hispanic or Latino (any race)41.2%

White, not Hispanic31.6% 56.0%

Asian, not Hispanic16.3% 19.4%

Black, not Hispanic5.0% 7.1%

Two or more races, not Hispanic4.5%

Some other race, not Hispanic0.6%

American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic0.4% 3.6%

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic0.3% 0.9%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B03002; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B02009. The dark bars are mutually exclusive and add to 100%. The light bars count everyone who reported the race, alone or with another race and of any ethnicity, so they overlap and add to more than 100%.

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Group	Share (single group)	MOE	Alone or in combination
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	41.2%		–
White, not Hispanic	31.6%		56.0%
Asian, not Hispanic	16.3%	±0.1	19.4%
Black, not Hispanic	5.0%		7.1%
Two or more races, not Hispanic	4.5%	±0.1	–
Some other race, not Hispanic	0.6%		–
American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic	0.4%		3.6%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic	0.3%		0.9%

The non-Hispanic Black share is 5.0%, 6.7 percentage points below the US figure (11.7%)²; including people who reported Black together with another race it is 7.1%¹⁸. Multiracial identification is common: in the 2020 Census 14.6%¹⁴ of Californians reported two or more races. On the diversity index, the chance that two residents picked at random belong to different groups, California scores 69.9, the 3rd most diverse state after Hawaii and Nevada¹⁹.

Asian Californians, group by group

Asian residents are 17.5% of the population in the Census Bureau's estimates, the 2nd highest share after Hawaii (36.7%¹³). The 2025 survey counted 6,534,374²⁰ people of Asian race alone; counting people who also reported another race, the Asian share rises to 19.4%²¹.

The largest groups in 2025 were Chinese (1,618,251, not counting Taiwanese), Filipino (1,375,137) and Asian Indian (1,023,236²⁰). California has the largest Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Hmong populations of any state on the 2020–2024 five-year figures. By share of the population it ranks highest for Taiwanese, 2nd highest for Asian Indian and 4th highest²³ for Hmong residents.

Where people live: almost entirely urban

At the 2020 Census 94.2% of Californians lived in urban areas, the highest of any state (the District of Columbia is higher), and only 5.8%²⁴ in rural ones. Spread over 155,859 square miles of land, the 3rd largest²⁵ area of any state, the population averages 252.5 people per square mile, 161% above the US figure (96.7 people per square mile) and the 12th most densely populated²⁶ figure. This site covers states only, not cities or counties.

Californians also move less often than other Americans. In 2025, 89.6% lived in the same home as a year before (1.2 percentage points above the US figure (88.4%)), and only 1.1% had moved in from another state, the lowest in the nation²⁷.

Who leaves for other states, and where they go

In the 2024 survey of individual movers, 661,205 people (±23,293) moved from California to another state, the highest in the nation, and 406,873 moved in, a net balance of −254,332²⁸.

Moved to California from

Texas45,447 ±6,640

Arizona28,174 ±4,463

Washington26,956 ±4,931

New York24,927 ±3,680

Nevada21,133 ±4,646

Illinois19,953 ±5,236

Virginia18,100 ±4,368

Oregon17,954 ±4,037

Left California for

Texas77,161 ±9,059

Nevada53,289 ±6,970

Arizona52,383 ±6,890

Washington43,938 ±5,464

Florida36,194 ±5,759

Oregon31,500 ±4,443

New York31,367 ±4,875

Virginia20,180 ±4,162

Source: Census Bureau, State-to-State Migration Flows, 2024. People aged 1 and over who lived in another state a year earlier (and the reverse). Survey estimates: whiskers show the 90% margin of error.

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State	Moved in from	Moved out to
Texas	45,447 ±6,640	77,161 ±9,059
Arizona	28,174 ±4,463	52,383 ±6,890
Washington	26,956 ±4,931	43,938 ±5,464
New York	24,927 ±3,680	31,367 ±4,875
Nevada	21,133 ±4,646	53,289 ±6,970
Illinois	19,953 ±5,236	–
Virginia	18,100 ±4,368	20,180 ±4,162
Oregon	17,954 ±4,037	31,500 ±4,443
Florida	15,988 ±3,031	36,194 ±5,759

Texas received the most, 77,161, statistically larger than the flow to Nevada, followed by Nevada (53,289) and Arizona (52,383). Texas was also the largest source of arrivals (45,447), so the exchange runs both ways. Another 303,793²⁸ residents had been living abroad a year earlier.

Tax returns for 2022 and 2023 tell the same story in money: the net change in filers and dependents was −200,547, and departing households reported $36.1 billion of adjusted gross income against $24.2 billion for arriving ones, a net balance of −$11.9 billion, the lowest in the nation²⁹.

Few residents come from elsewhere in the country: only 14.1% were born in another state, 2nd lowest among the states. 57.1%³⁰ were born in California, and most of the rest abroad.

Immigrants and the languages spoken at home

10,687,553 Californians were born outside the United States in 2025, 27.2% of the population. Both the number and the share are the highest in the nation, though the number was down from 10,902,022 in 2024. Immigrants from Latin America make up 47.9% of the foreign-born and those from Asia 41.9%, 10.0 percentage points above the US figure (31.9%). More than half, 57.2%³⁰, are naturalized US citizens, and the state recorded 149,800 naturalizations in fiscal year 2024, the highest in the nation³¹.

West Virginia 2.8%California 44.9%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table C16001. Each dot is a state. Period: 2025.

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State	Speak a language other than English at home
California	44.9%
Texas	35.4%
New Jersey	34.0%
New York	32.1%
Florida	31.4%
New Mexico	30.6%
Nevada	30.2%
Massachusetts	26.3%
Arizona	25.3%
Hawaii	25.1%
Illinois	25.0%
Connecticut	23.5%
Rhode Island	22.9%
Washington	22.5%
Maryland	22.2%
District of Columbia	20.0%
Virginia	18.5%
Utah	17.0%
Colorado	16.9%
Georgia	16.1%
Oregon	15.8%
Delaware	15.6%
Alaska	15.4%
North Carolina	14.7%
Nebraska	13.8%
Pennsylvania	13.3%
Kansas	12.9%
Minnesota	12.8%
Oklahoma	11.6%
Indiana	11.1%
Idaho	10.9%
Michigan	10.9%
Iowa	10.2%
Tennessee	9.6%
Wisconsin	9.5%
South Carolina	9.4%
Ohio	8.9%
Arkansas	8.8%
Louisiana	8.4%
New Hampshire	8.4%
North Dakota	7.9%
Kentucky	7.6%
Missouri	6.9%
Alabama	6.8%
South Dakota	6.8%
Maine	6.3%
Vermont	5.5%
Mississippi	4.7%
Montana	4.0%
West Virginia	2.8%

44.9% of residents aged five and older speak a language other than English at home, the highest of the 49 states and DC with published data. Spanish accounts for most of it (28.5%), followed by Chinese (3.5%), Tagalog (2.2%), Vietnamese (1.4%) and Korean (1.0%). 16.8% speak English less than "very well", also the highest of the 49 states and DC with published data, though that share was down from 17.9% in 2024³².

Age: fewer children, more retirees

The median age is 38.7 years, 0.8 years below the US figure (39.5 years) and younger than every bordering state (Arizona, Nevada and Oregon)³. It has risen steadily, up from 34.4 years in 2005³³. The shift shows in the counts: California's 8,174,798 children are the most in the nation, but the number is down from 8,822,666 in 2020, while residents aged 65 and older number 6,901,168, up from 6,023,283 in 2020¹³.

MenWomenUnited States

MenWomen

85+

80–84

75–79

70–74

65–69

60–64

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Share of the total population in each age group. Vertical ticks: the United States.

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Age	Men (%)	Women (%)	US men (%)	US women (%)
0-4	2.67	2.55	2.76	2.65
5-9	2.91	2.79	2.96	2.83
10-14	3.06	2.93	3.08	2.95
15-19	3.32	3.16	3.31	3.16
20-24	3.47	3.29	3.43	3.28
25-29	3.69	3.52	3.46	3.37
30-34	3.73	3.62	3.41	3.38
35-39	3.62	3.55	3.38	3.40
40-44	3.37	3.39	3.21	3.27
45-49	3.02	3.13	2.93	3.03
50-54	2.90	3.05	2.83	2.96
55-59	2.89	3.02	2.86	3.02
60-64	2.82	3.02	2.96	3.21
65-69	2.54	2.82	2.75	3.08
70-74	2.06	2.42	2.26	2.64
75-79	1.56	1.92	1.71	2.08
80-84	0.93	1.24	1.00	1.32
85+	0.80	1.26	0.78	1.28

The pyramid bulges in the working years. Residents aged 18 to 64 are 61.7% of the population, the 3rd highest share, so the state has the 3rd lowest¹³ ratio of children and older people to working-age adults. The base is narrow: the total fertility rate was 1.46 births per woman in 2024, 9% below the US figure (1.60), and the birth rate among women aged 25 to 29 was 21% below the US figure (89.5 per 1,000 women aged 25 to 29)³⁴.

High incomes, the highest prices

The median household income was $102,159 in 2025 (±$390), $17,379 (20%) above the US figure ($84,780), which places California between 5th and 8th⁴ among the states. 21.7% of households had income of $200,000 or more, the 5th highest³⁵ share, and the state had 132,720 tax returns reporting $1 million or more in 2023, the most in the nation³⁶. Incomes are also spread widely: the Gini index of 0.489 puts California between 3rd and 8th³⁷ most unequal.

CaliforniaUnited States

Under $25,00012.4% 14.0%

$25,000–$49,99912.2% 15.4%

$50,000–$99,99923.9% 27.8%

$100,000–$199,99929.7% 28.0%

$200,000 or more21.7% 14.8%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B19001. Share of households in each band of income in the past 12 months, in 2025 dollars.

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Household income	California	MOE	United States
Under $25,000	12.4%	±0.2	14.0%
$25,000–$49,999	12.2%	±0.2	15.4%
$50,000–$99,999	23.9%	±0.3	27.8%
$100,000–$199,999	29.7%	±0.3	28.0%
$200,000 or more	21.7%	±0.2	14.8%

Prices offset part of that. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts California's 2024 price level at 110.7 (US = 100), the most expensive in the nation, with housing at 154.3. Per capita personal income of $90,957 ranks 6th highest³⁹; adjusted for those prices it is $63,028, 13th highest³⁸.

The two poverty measures diverge far more here than nationally. The official rate, which ignores local costs, was 11.4% in 2025 (±0.2 percentage points), 0.4 percentage points below the US figure (11.8%)⁵. The Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for housing costs, taxes and benefits, averaged 17.8% over 2023 to 2025, the 2nd highest of any state, against 10.7% on the official measure from the same survey. The gap of 7.1 percentage points is 4.8 percentage points above the US figure (2.3 percentage points)⁴⁰.

The most Catholics, and few congregations per resident

California has more Catholic adherents than any other state: 10,362,063 in 2020, according to the U.S. Religion Census, 26.2% of residents and 16.8% of the national total. The Catholic Church accounts for 58.5% of everyone on a congregation's books in the state. Congregations are large on average: measured per resident there are only 6.0 per 10,000 residents, the 2nd lowest⁴³ figure.

Readers often ask what percent of California is Christian or Jewish. Christian congregations counted 41.6%. Synagogues counted 186,377 members, the 3rd most number of any state, and the mosque study estimated 504,056 people taking part in mosques, the 2nd most. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints counted 756,507⁴³ members, second only to Utah.

Each figure is a congregation's own count. People who identify with a faith but belong to no congregation are not in them, and synagogue and mosque counts are not population estimates; the religion overview explains the difference.

Housing: the highest rents, few homeowners

Median gross rent was $2,160 a month in 2025, the most expensive in the nation and $603 (39%) above the US figure ($1,557)⁴¹. 55.5%⁴⁴ of renter households spent thirty percent or more of their income on rent. The median value of an owner-occupied home was $770,700, 2nd most expensive⁴⁵, and 32.2%⁴⁶ of owned homes were valued at $1 million or more.

CaliforniaUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Adjusted to 2025 dollars with the CPI-U annual average. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	California	United States
2005	$1,604 ±$8	$1,200 ±$3
2006	$1,643 ±$8	$1,218 ±$3
2007	$1,674 ±$8	$1,225 ±$3
2008	$1,697 ±$6	$1,232 ±$3
2009	$1,733 ±$8	$1,264 ±$3
2010	$1,717 ±$7	$1,262 ±$3
2011	$1,680 ±$6	$1,247 ±$3
2012	$1,683 ±$6	$1,240 ±$3
2013	$1,692 ±$6	$1,251 ±$3
2014	$1,724 ±$7	$1,270 ±$3
2015	$1,781 ±$7	$1,303 ±$3
2016	$1,844 ±$7	$1,316 ±$3
2017	$1,901 ±$7	$1,329 ±$3
2018	$1,949 ±$9	$1,356 ±$3
2019	$2,032 ±$9	$1,381 ±$3
2021	$2,079 ±$8	$1,415 ±$2
2022	$2,057 ±$9	$1,430 ±$3
2023	$2,105 ±$8	$1,486 ±$3
2024	$2,159 ±$9	$1,526 ±$3
2025	$2,160 ±$9	$1,557 ±$4

Only 55.7% of households own their home, 3rd lowest among the states and 9.6 percentage points below the US figure (65.3%)⁴². Households are large, averaging 2.77 people, the 3rd largest⁴⁷. Few homes stand empty: the vacancy rate of 7.3% is 2.3 percentage points below the US figure (9.6%)⁴⁸.

Homelessness, Medicaid and SNAP

HUD's point-in-time count found 181,934 people experiencing homelessness on one night in January 2025, the most in the nation and down from 187,084 a year earlier. Per resident the rate was 46.2 per 10,000 residents, the 6th highest. 63.5% were unsheltered, sleeping outside or in places not meant for housing, 27.8 percentage points above the US figure (35.7%)⁴⁹.

Medicaid and CHIP covered 11,746,673 people in June 2026, the most in the nation and 29.8% of residents, against 13,382,455⁵⁰ in June 2025. An average of 5,474,022 people received SNAP food benefits each month in fiscal year 2025, 13.9%⁵¹ of the population. Only 34.1% of households below the poverty line received SNAP, 7.9 percentage points below the US figure (42.0%)⁵².

Schooling: the lowest high school share, above-average degrees

86.2% of adults aged 25 and older have at least a high school diploma (±0.4 percentage points), the lowest in the nation and 4.4 percentage points below the US figure (90.6%). At the same time 38.8% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 1.4 percentage points above the US figure (37.4%)⁵³, a share that has risen up from 29.5% in 2005³³. Both figures describe adults living in the state, wherever they went to school. Among students in the state's public high schools, the graduation rate for 2021–22 was 87%, the same as the US figure (87%)⁵⁴.

Oregon92.2% ±1.0

United States90.6% ±0.2

Arizona90.5% ±0.8

Nevada89.4% ±1.3

California86.2% ±0.4

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B15003. Whiskers show the 90% margin of error. Period: 2025.

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State	High school graduate or higher	MOE
Oregon	92.2%	±1.0
United States	90.6%	±0.2
Arizona	90.5%	±0.8
Nevada	89.4%	±1.3
California	86.2%	±0.4

Health, work and veterans

Life expectancy at birth was 79.3 years in 2022, 1.8 years above the US figure (77.5 years) and tied for 6th longest⁵⁵ among the states. Infant mortality, 4.2 per 1,000 live births, is 24% below the US figure (5.5 per 1,000 live births)⁵⁶. 6.1% of residents had no health insurance in 2025, 2.3 percentage points below the US figure (8.4%)⁵⁷.

The unemployment rate averaged 5.5% in 2025, the highest of any state (the District of Columbia is higher), and the preliminary figure for September 2026 is 5.1%⁵⁸.

California is home to 1,254,746 veterans, the 3rd highest number, but they are only 4.0% of adults, 5th lowest⁵⁹ among the states.