This week the CA Department of Finance released a startling report on the expected population growth in California by mid-century. According to the report, the number of Californians will grow from 34.1 million in 2000 to 59.5 million by 2050. The report details its population growth projections on a county-by-county basis.

The report’s projections are a signal to responsible legislators and advocates to start thinking in practical and rational terms about how to overcome the challenges that come with such growth. Make no mistake, there will be those that will scream and shout at the future, holding on to their golden memories of yesteryear. Some others may even work to sabotage efforts to prepare for such a future, hoping not to lose power or status in a California with a Latino majority. At the end of the day, however, we have to count our blessings that California will yet again reinvent itself as we lead the country into the future. Indeed, the future is noting to fear; it’s something that we can prepare for as we continue to build a Golden State where everyone counts and everyone matters.

60 million Californians by mid-century

Riverside will become the second most populous county behind Los Angeles and Latinos the dominant ethnic group, study says.
By Maria L. La Ganga and Sara Lin
Times Staff Writers, July 10, 2007

Over the next half-century, California’s population will explode by nearly 75%, and Riverside will surpass its bigger neighbors to become the second most populous county after Los Angeles, according to state Department of Finance projections released Monday.

California will near the 60-million mark in 2050, the study found, raising questions about how the state will look and function and where all the people and their cars will go. Dueling visions pit the iconic California building block of ranch house, big yard and two-car garage against more dense, high-rise development.