Trend Shifts, California Grows Slower Than U.S.

WASHINGTON — For the first time in two decades, California is growing more slowly than the nation as a whole, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Altogether, there were 257,908,000 Americans on July 1, 2.8 million more than a year earlier--a 1.1% increase.

Nearly a third of the increase, 894,000 people, was the result of immigration from other countries, while births accounted for the rest.

In California, the population grew by 1%, to 31.2 million. Foreign immigrants made up 95% of the state’s growth.

Nationally, Nevada was the fastest-growing state, estimated to have a 3.9% increase in the last year, to 1,389,000. It was followed by Idaho at 3.1% and Colorado at 2.9%.

During the 1980s, California grew twice as fast as the nation. But in recent years the state’s huge aerospace industry has shrunk dramatically as the military cut purchasing at the end of the Cold War. Heavy immigration has also contributed to rapid growth in the number of people looking for jobs.

“There are no longer rumors floating around elsewhere in the United States that you can come to California and get a good job,” said Peter Morrison, a demographer with the RAND Corp. in Santa Monica. “At the same time, we’re seeing an increasing number of people leaving the state for other places that are economically healthy.”