California Population Grows, But Slowly

The latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau count 381,000 more people in California in July of this year compared to July last year.

That puts it second only to Texas in population growth by state, and California remains the most populous state in the nation.

However, it isn't growing the fastest -- that distinction goes to Wyoming, with Utah, Texas and Colorado in second, third and fourth, respectively.

Those growth numbers among nearby western states may confirm State Department of Finance numbers that, in fact, show many Californians to be leaving, and without immigrants arriving from other countries, the state's population would actually be going down.

The Department of Finance only counted 353,000 new residents in the same year-over-year period, indicating the margin of error inherent in such estimates.

Within California, Bay Area counties were among those growing fastest, with Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties all growing nearly one percent or more.

Jackson West couldn't be paid enough to move to Nevada.