California’s population is growing again — but not in Long Beach

More people are moving to California and fewer people are leaving, a trend that helped grow the state’s population last year for the first time since 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced Tuesday.

That trend, however, did not hold true for Long Beach. The city’s population shrank by about 800 people — or 0.2% — according to a report released by the chief demographer for California’s Department of Finance.

Long Beach’s population is now estimated to be 458,813.

The report said a rebound in legal immigration, fewer people leaving the state and more people moving here from other parts of the country helped drive up California’s population. The declining number of deaths since the peak of the pandemic also helped.

Only three of California’s 10 biggest cities — Long Beach, Oakland and San Jose — shrank in 2023.

One factor that likely kept more people from moving to Long Beach was its slower-than-average housing growth. The state added 115,933 units as a whole, but officials estimated only 631 new homes were built in Long Beach — a growth of just 0.3%. (Long Beach says that number is slightly higher, closer to 750.)

Los Angeles, Downey, Bellflower, El Segundo, Gardena, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Malibu all added housing at a faster rate than Long Beach last year.

Statewide, the housing stock grew by 0.79%, driven by increasing urban density in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco.

Single-family homes were more likely to be built in inland cities like Menifee, Bakersfield and Fresno — which all grew in population last year.

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