California Population Drops by Over 182k, First Decline in History

California state officials disclosed Friday that its population dropped in 2020 “for the first time in the state’s recorded history. The decline was attributed to a combination of COVID-19 deaths, a decreasing birth rate, and a reduction in immigration” reports National Review.

The state’s Department of Finance released data showing the population decreased by 182,083 people. The news comes just a week after the U.S. Census Bureau announced both California and New York would be losing a congressional seat.

From January of 2020 to January 2021, the population decreased by .46% leaving the state with just under 39.5 million people. This marks the “first year-over-year loss ever recorded for the nation’s most populous state” reports California’s local ABC 7.

What would California be without a blame Trump tactic? State officials say part of their population decline is due to a reduction of international immigration as a direct impact of the Trump administration halting issuing new visas for much of 2020.

Other contributing numbers include roughly 51,000 Californians who reportedly died from coronavirus and traveling restrictions made it so about 53,000 international students could not come to the state.

According to ABC 7, the Department of Finances population estimate “comes from a number of sources, including birth and death counts, the number of new driver’s licenses and address changes, school enrollments and federal tax returns.”