It also shows that, for the first time ever, Los Angeles County and the nine counties surrounding the San Francisco Bay simultaneously lost population in the same year. The nine Bay Area counties, which have a combined population of about 7.7 million, lost roughly 64,000 people. Counties in the Central Valley that are near the San Francisco Bay reported population increases, including Fresno, Placer, Merced and Tulare. Combined, researchers say California's population loss because of domestic migration has more than doubled since the pandemic began in March 2020. The San Francisco Bay area has been impacted the most by this trend.

Source: CBC News December 18, 2021 10:16 UTC