But the influx of international immigrants and births outpacing deaths have always been enough to overcome that loss. That changed in 2020.

In a normal year, the state might have between 140,000 and 150,000 people move in from other countries. In 2020, it was just 29,000 people — a direct impact, state officials say, of the Trump administration halting new visas for much of the year.

Global lockdowns because of the coronavirus prompted a 29 per cent decline in international students coming to California, or about 53,000 people.

Births continued their steady decline, mirroring a national trend. But deaths soared as the coronavirus killed 51,000 people in California last year, accounting for a 19 per cent increase of the state’s death rate compared to the previous three-year average.

“If it were not for the pandemic last year, we might be having a very different conversation today,” said Walter Schwarm, California’s chief demographer.

The deaths were more pronounced in the state’s most populated cities, including Los Angeles, with a 27 per cent increase over its three-year average. Overall, Los Angeles lost nearly 52,000 people, the third straight year of decline that has put its population at just over 3.9 million.

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Eric McGhee, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, said the state’s population decline is “largely a function of the pandemic.” He says the state would likely return to its trend of slow growth this year as things return to normal.

But he said the underlying issues causing that slow growth would remain, including a housing shortage that was driving prices to an all-time high. A recent PPIC analysis of census data showed people moving to California make more money and had higher education levels than people who moved out.

“The thing that policymakers have the most control over probably is creating an environment where life is affordable,” he said.

The state’s four most populated cities — LA, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco — lost a combined 88,000 people in 2020. Meanwhile, major inland cities including Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield added population, evidence of people fleeing high-priced coastal cities for cheaper living.

Population estimates released last week by the US Census Bureau showed paltry growth in California. But those numbers showed California’s population as of April 2020. The numbers the state released on Friday reflect California’s population as of January 2021.

The state’s population estimate comes from a number of sources, including birth and death counts, the number of new driver’s licences and address changes, school enrolments and federal tax returns.

AP