As much as history was made then, the announcement Friday — that the state’s population has declined for the first time in its history — is equally historic. California lost 182,083 people in 2020, though it remains the most populous state, with just under 39.5 million residents. They also said that as pandemic-related deaths decline, and federal immigration policy changes, California is expected return to growth in 2021. But beyond blame and pronouncements lies a more fundamental question: Has the Golden State lost its luster? In the last decade, about 6.1 million people left California for other states, and 4.9 million moved to California from elsewhere in the nation.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 08, 2021 12:02 UTC