North Bay counties may be losing residents, according to data released last week by the California Department of Finance.
Napa, Marin and Sonoma counties are estimated to have lost a total of 3,229 residents between July 2018 and July 2019. They are the only counties in the Bay Area estimated to have lost residents, the data show. Population growth in each of the other Bay Area counties was estimated at less than 1 percent in the 12-month period.
Alameda County’s estimated growth was the highest at 0.68 percent, bringing the county’s population to 1,674,115. That’s up 11,385 residents. Contra Costa County’s population was up an estimated half a percent, the second highest rate in the region. Santa Clara County was estimated to be the Bay Area’s most populous county with 1,961,117 residents, making up nearly 5 percent of the state’s population.
California’s population is estimated to have grown by 141,300 to 39.96 million. That’s up 0.35 percent. Between July 2017 and July 2018 the state population grew by an estimated 0.57 percent.