California population keeps falling, led by coastal losses; inland areas keep growing

California’s population continued to decline after falling for the first time on record during the COVID-19 pandemic — but that loss is showing signs of slowing, new demographic data indicate.

The state’s population declined by 117,552 between Jan. 1, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022, bringing the estimated total population to 39,185,605, according to data released by the state Department of Finance on Monday. The 0.3% decline represents a slowing compared with the 0.59% drop over the nine-month period between the April 2020 census date and that year’s end, demographers said....