On August 15, 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for the Nation. The Bureau provides annual estimates of population trends via its American Community Survey (ACS) report. An evaluation of data over last five years (July 2000 through July 2005) provides some interesting statistics for population change within California counties.



Of the top 15 most populated counties within California, San Diego ranked #14 in terms of population growth. The population change for San Diego County was as follows:

Year 2000: 2,824,587

Year 2001: 2,862,808

Year 2002: 2,899,193

Year 2003: 2,921,104

Year 2004: 2,935,190

Year 2005: 2,933,462

While San Diego was #3 in terms of population size (2,933,462 residents) of Counties in California, it was #14 in terms of population growth when evaluating the 15 most populated counties in California. Specifically, San Diego County had a 3.9% increase in population from 2000 to 2005. In contrast, Riverside County had the largest increase from 2000 to 2005, with a whopping 24.8% jump.

The data below summarizes the growth or decline of the top 15 most populated Counties with California. As detailed below, only two of the top fifteen Counties (San Francisco and San Mateo) experienced population declines. San Francisco County had a 4.8% reduction in population from 2000 to 2005, and San Mateo had 1.2% decline in population during this same period.

1.Los Angeles, 2005 Population Estimate: 9,935, 475 (4.1% increase from 2000)

2.Orange County, 2005 Population Estimate: 2,988,072 (4.6% increase from 2000)

3.San Diego, 2005 Population Estimate: 2,933,462 (3.9% increase from 2000)

4.San Bernardino, Population Estimate: 1,963,535 (14.2% increase from 2000)

5.Riverside, 2005 Population Estimate: 1,946,419 (24.8% increase from 2000)

6.Santa Clara, 2005 Population Estimate: 1,699,052 (0.8% increase from 2000)

7.Alameda, 2005 Population Estimate: 1,448,905 (-.0.1% decrease from 2000)

8.Sacramento, 2005 Population Estimate: 1,363,482 (10.8% increase from 2000)

9.Contra Costa, 2005 Population Estimate: 1,017,787 (6.7% increase from 2000)

10.Fresno, 2005 Population Estimate: 877,584 (9.4% increase from 2000)

11.Ventura, 2005 Population Estimate: 796,106 (5.2% increase from 2000)

12.Kern, 2005 Population Estimate: 756,825 (14% increase from 2000)

13.San Francisco, 2005 Population Estimate: 739,426 (4.8% decline from 2000)

14.San Mateo, 2005 Population Estimate: 699,610 (1.2% decline from 2000)

15.San Joaquin, 2005 Population Estimate: 664,116 (16.9% increase from 2000)

If you are thinking about buying San Diego real estate, keep in mind that the population for this region continues to increase, which may impact demand for housing.

Visit the Census Bureau's web site for detailed information about population growth.