Once a city watched closely for its pandemic-era population drain, San Francisco is charting a course to recovery, much to the surprise of doomsayers. New figures from the California Department of Finance have the city on the pin of the state's fastest-growing populations post-pandemic. With a net migration gain of 4,682 individuals from July 2022 to July 2023, the Golden Gate City is making headlines again—this time for its appeal as home ground.
Following a stark exodus that saw the city's population dip by tens of thousands since 2020, the latest data signals a 0.58% population bump bringing the total to 848,019. However, this increase is not just local. Nearby Silicon Valley is also relishing in population gains, notably driven by international and domestic migration, an encouraging twist in the tale for a state that saw its population shrink again in 2023. According to Bloomberg, this growth presents "welcome news" amid budget crises sparked by an earlier exodus and plummeting retail business.
But it's not all roses and sunshine. Los Angeles County, the state's most populous, saw its population fall by 15,217 people—a 0.15% dip over the last year, the SF Standard reported. The overall picture for California remains bleak, with more than 430,000 people leaving since 2020, leading to historical marks like the loss of a congressional seat in 2021. The reasons span a higher death rate, a lower birth rate, and a declining rate of international migration, exacerbated by the pandemic.
The silver lining is that the rate at which the state's population is declining has started to slow. With pandemic restrictions easing off and foreign immigration bouncing to return to pre-pandemic levels, it seems like California is catching a break. H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesperson, vaulted the positive news as a "crushing blow" to critics in a report obtained by Bloomberg, who had predicted a downward spiral for San Francisco's resident numbers and tax revenue.
Revisions in the state's data, incorporating migration figures from the Internal Revenue Service and the 2020 census, have positioned San Francisco's growth on a steadier pedestal than previous reports suggested. As The San Francisco Chronicle pointed out, the city had started regaining residents between July 2021 and July 2022, gaining about 1,400 people. Departing residents sought new pastures during pandemic peaks, but those recent gains assert that San Francisco is again drawing more than it's losing.
