Population in the following counties has continued to increase since 2000: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego County. The total population for the five counties in 2009 reached approximately 20.8 million. Los Angeles County has the largest population with 10.5 million and San Bernardino has the lowest at 2 million. Below is a table that shows population for each county since 2000.
| Year | Los Angeles County | Orange County | Riverside County | San Bernardino County | San Diego County | Total |
| 2000 | 9,519,330 | 2,846,289 | 1,545,387 | 1,710,139 | 2,813,833 | 18,434,978 |
| 2001 | 9,656,585 | 2,890,473 | 1,590,122 | 1,746,874 | 2,864,539 | 18,748,593 |
| 2002 | 9,815,369 | 2,938,731 | 1,652,808 | 1,793,009 | 2,920,806 | 19,120,723 |
| 2003 | 9,959,447 | 2,980,547 | 1,724,329 | 1,840,628 | 2,970,899 | 19,475,850 |
| 2004 | 10,074,844 | 3,016,874 | 1,804,117 | 1,893,861 | 3,007,285 | 19,796,281 |
| 2005 | 10,158,409 | 3,044,980 | 1,883,735 | 1,946,312 | 3,034,388 | 20,067,824 |
| 2006 | 10,209,201 | 3,063,159 | 1,962,014 | 1,990,390 | 3,058,413 | 20,283,177 |
| 2007 | 10,243,764 | 3,080,383 | 2,030,315 | 2,022,710 | 3,088,891 | 20,466,063 |
| 2008 | 10,301,658 | 3,107,500 | 2,078,601 | 2,044,895 | 3,131,552 | 20,664,206 |
| 2009 | 10,393,185 | 3,139,017 | 2,107,653 | 2,060,950 | 3,173,407 | 20,871,212 |
Although Los Angeles County has the largest population, Riverside County has experienced the greatest increase in population since 2000. Riverside County’s population has increased 36.38% from 2000 to 2009.
In addition to the population increase, total housing units for the area has also increased. Total housing units include single family residences, multi-units, and mobile homes. From 2000 to 2009, total housing units increased 9.40% compared to the 13.23% population increase. Below is a line bar graph that shows the increase of population and housing units.
The ratio of housing units to population has remain relatively the same each year (0.33 – 0.35). This data shows that as population increases in the five counties, housing units will be built to – supply and demand.
However, this data doesn’t answer questions on how population is increasing. Are more people moving to southern California or has the birth rate increase? Also, as new housing units are being built, are they being occupied or has the vacancy rate increase?
Keep in mind this post contains high level metrics, in my upcoming posts I’ll breakdown the information and hopefully answer the questions above.
Housing unit information gathered from www.dof.ca.gov. Demographic Research, Reports and Research Papers, E-5 City/County Population and Housing Estimates.
Population growth information gathered from www.dof.ca.gov. Demographic Research, Reports and Research Papers, E-4 Population Estimates.