California Population Climbs to 38.5 Million

California's population climbed to 38.5 million people over the last year as the state recorded its most significant back-to-back growth in a decade.

The state Department of Finance reported Thursday that the population grew by 335,000 between July 1, 2013, and July 1 of this year.

That is a growth rate of 0.9 percent, the same as the previous year and the highest since 2003-04, before the recession.

Birth rates continue to decline, particularly among teenagers, but still accounted for 243,000 of the state's new residents.

Another 92,000 people moved into California during the last fiscal year.

Much of the growth is in urban coastal counties, with Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Santa Clara counties adding the most people and providing more than half of the state's growth.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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