California’s population grows for first time in years — but parts of Bay Area continue to shrink

There were 39.1 million state residents at the end of last year, an estimated gain of 0.17%, or over 67,000 people from the prior year, according to state Department of Finance data released Tuesday. During the first year of the pandemic, the state saw its first population loss for the first time on record, and slowing growth in the prior decade led to the loss of a Congressional seat. Walter Schwarm, the Department of Finance’s chief demographer, described last year as a return to the “old normal” before the pandemic,...