So, as our longtime, loyal reader knows (you know who you are, thanks!), we’re fascinated
with demographics. Each year, we wait with bated breath for the release of
the E-1 report on May 1.
The E-1 is an annual report put
together by the California Department of Finance...that’s DOF in acronym-speak. The E-1 compiles population and housing
projections for all the counties and cities in the state based on a whole bunch
of data, including construction activity throughout the state.
Fun Fact: There are 58 counties and 482 cities in California.
In addition to just being a crazy amount of super interesting
data, these figures are helpful in identifying trends useful in various
planning processes and understanding how people move in and around California. This year’s data illustrated some dramatic shifts. More on that in a minute…
Another use of this data is in the distribution of state
subventions (that’s a fancy government way of saying money) that are based on
population.
So what is interesting about this year’s numbers…well there
are so many interesting things, we could go on and on...and on…but here's the reason we think you've stuck with us this long:
- Monrovia’s population showed a small decrease (-0.1%). As of January 1, 2019, Monrovia’s population was estimated to be 38,529.
- Los Angeles County’s population also decreased slightly from 10,254,658 to 10,253,716.
- California's population increased 0.5% to 39,927,315.
Something else reflected in this year's estimates show the dramatic population shifts that resulted from last year's catastrophic wildfires. What is widely considered as the most
destructive wildfire in California, the Camp Fire in Butte County destroyed
over 14,600 housing units.
Just to put that number in perspective, that’s more
than the total number of housing units in the entire City of Monrovia. In the
Town of Paradise alone, almost 90% of their housing was destroyed and their population
decreased 82.6%! So where did these people
go? Well in a large part, they relocated
to the nearby cities of Chico and Oroville, each adding more than 20% to their populations.
We wish all the residents of those communities affected by fires a speedy recovery.
If you want to know more about this year's E-1, check out the Demographic page on the DOF website.
Fun Fact 2: Among California's 482 cities, Monrovia ranks #213 in population.
Want to read about past population updates, check them out here.
