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What are the fastest-growing counties in California?

Placer County (+8.9%), San Benito County (+8.6%) and Yuba County (+8.2%) grew fastest in California between 2020 and 2025.

California as a whole shrank 0.4% between 2020 and 2025, to 39,355,309 residents.

Data as of 2025 · updated

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All 58 California counties ranked

California counties by population growth
RankCountyResidents 2025Change 2020–25Net migration per 1,000, 2025New homes per 1,000, 2025
1Placer County442,081+8.9%16.07.4
2San Benito County70,082+8.6%9.73.5
3Yuba County88,691+8.2%9.75.2
4Madera County167,927+7.4%5.17.4
5San Joaquin County823,815+5.5%0.53.1
6Merced County297,260+5.1%−4.42.6
7Riverside County2,544,916+5.0%3.03.8
8Amador County41,876+3.2%1.91.6
9Yolo County224,410+3.1%−2.91.8
10Calaveras County46,605+2.8%6.21.5
11Fresno County1,035,456+2.6%−4.42.2
12Tulare County485,146+2.4%−3.63.7
13Kern County927,068+2.3%−2.83.4
14Sacramento County1,618,460+2.0%−2.24.1
15San Bernardino County2,224,091+1.9%−2.22.8
16Imperial County181,411+1.0%−12.31.3
17Kings County154,327+1.0%−7.03.3
18Stanislaus County557,719+0.7%−4.32.2
19El Dorado County192,323+0.6%0.72.5
20Solano County455,376+0.5%−2.81.9
21Contra Costa County1,170,070+0.3%−5.71.0
22San Luis Obispo County282,367+0.0%1.02.3
23Colusa County21,836−0.1%−8.60.8
24Shasta County181,648−0.3%3.01.4
25Nevada County101,911−0.4%1.11.9
26Sonoma County486,444−0.4%1.13.5
27Butte County209,211−0.5%2.44.8
28San Diego County3,282,248−0.6%−7.33.6
29Lake County67,772−0.6%3.01.3
30Sutter County98,787−0.7%−7.63.6
31Santa Clara County1,914,391−0.9%−10.32.8
32Orange County3,149,507−1.2%−8.11.6
33Mariposa County16,918−1.2%0.41.3
34Santa Barbara County442,065−1.4%−8.73.1
35Ventura County830,851−1.5%−6.01.9
36Monterey County433,729−1.5%−6.21.8
37Tehama County64,665−1.7%−0.80.6
38Trinity County15,720−2.4%6.22.1
39San Mateo County743,568−2.5%−5.53.0
40Glenn County28,141−2.6%−7.54.1
41Alameda County1,636,630−2.6%−9.81.7
42Modoc County8,426−2.9%−5.81.1
43Marin County253,694−2.9%−10.90.6
44Los Angeles County9,694,934−3.0%−10.92.3
45Napa County132,949−3.3%−1.62.7
46Humboldt County131,647−3.4%−2.22.5
47Mendocino County88,122−3.5%−8.40.0
48Sierra County3,098−4.0%1.30.3
49Tuolumne County53,160−4.0%−14.61.7
50Inyo County18,158−4.4%−3.00.6
51Del Norte County26,410−4.4%−14.04.3
52Siskiyou County42,013−4.5%−5.21.0
53Santa Cruz County258,852−4.7%−10.41.8
54Mono County12,505−5.4%−18.93.4
55San Francisco County826,079−5.6%−0.21.7
56Plumas County18,583−5.9%−4.22.4
57Alpine County1,043−11.6%−31.63.8
58Lassen County28,117−13.1%−17.90.6

Ranked by the change in Census Bureau population estimates, 2020–2025.

Statewide totals

More county rankings for California

Metro areas

Fastest-growing metro areas in California · Fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S. · Largest metro areas in California

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Questions

Is California growing?

California as a whole shrank 0.4% between 2020 and 2025, to 39,355,309 residents. Statewide figures add up its counties.

What is the fastest-growing county in California?

Placer County, which grew 8.9% between 2020 and 2025 to 442,081 residents (Census Bureau population estimates). San Benito County (+8.6%) and Yuba County (+8.2%) came next.

Which California counties are losing population?

36 of the 58 ranked counties had fewer residents in 2025 than in 2020. The steepest declines: Lassen County (−13.1%), Alpine County (−11.6%), Plumas County (−5.9%).

Where are people moving in California?

For their size, Placer County (16.0 per 1,000 residents), San Benito County (9.7 per 1,000 residents) and Yuba County (9.7 per 1,000 residents) drew the most net domestic migration (people moving in from other U.S. counties minus people moving out) in 2025.

Fastest-growing counties in other states

Across the U.S.

Sources and method

Each number shows its own period. Changes compare the latest period with five years earlier (or the earliest period available). Beacon CRE last refreshed these figures on 2026-11-05. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how we compute every number. More on every layer: data sources and licences.