California population falls to 39.5 million amid immigration policy changes

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]New this morning, new numbers show California's population decreased last year to about 39 and 1/2 million people.

[00:00:06]State officials say it was caused by the federal government's immigration policies. Let's break it down. According to the California State Department of Finance, federal policies cut legal migration to California and international humanitarian migration programs that led the state population to drop by 54,000 people. That is the first year of population loss after 3 years of increases following the pandemic. Net legal international immigration declined last year by more than 50% from 248,000 in 2024 to 126,000 in 2025. Now, this report did not mention specific numbers for illegal immigration. There was also an increase in people leaving California for other states. State officials estimate that 288,000 people moved to other states.

[00:00:54]Locally, Butte County's population was up.2% to 208,500.

[00:01:00]Chico increased.1% to 108,100.

[00:01:05]Shasta County population dropped.2% it's at 181,900.

[00:01:10]Redding was the only area of Shasta County that grew slightly with an increase of 1/10 of a percent to 94,200.

[00:01:17]Tehama County's population dropped.3%