Number of residents that left San Diego County last year nearly doubled from previous
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — While more U.S. counties saw population growth than losses in 2023, San Diego County saw nearly double the amount of people leave than move in compared to the year prior, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The newly released U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2023 estimates of population and components found that across the country, Southern counties saw the fastest growth in population last year, while Northeast and Midwest counites saw population losses turn to gains.
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But the West, where the average population change was the highest among all regions in 2022, fell behind the South in 2023 (see table below).
Region | Number of Counties | Gain | Loss | Average | Gain | Loss | Average |
Northeast | 218 | 83 | 135 | -0.24% | 105 | 113 | -0.07% |
Midwest | 1,055 | 454 | 601 | -0.09% | 542 | 513 | -0.02% |
South | 1,422 | 836 | 586 | 0.31% | 950 | 472 | 0.56% |
West | 449 | 276 | 173 | 0.51% | 279 | 170 | 0.34% |
All U.S. Counties | 3,144 | 1,649 | 1,495 | 0.17% | 1,876 | 1,268 | 0.29% |
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Year-over-year, 60% (1,876) of U.S. counties gained population, an increase from the 52% (1,649) for the previous year, the census bureau reports.
However, in San Diego County, the area did not follow nationwide trends — 30,745 more people left the region than moved into it in 2023, nearly double from 2022 which saw 15,956 more people leave than move in.
Counties With the Highest Levels of Net Domestic Migration in 2023
Top 10 Counties | 2022 | 2023 | Top 10 Counties | 2022 | 2023 |
Polk County, Florida | 29,606 | 26,029 | Los Angeles County, California | -143,724 | -119,037 |
Montgomery County, Texas | 22,770 | 25,501 | Cook County, Illinois | -94,927 | -58,105 |
Pasco County, Florida | 24,283 | 23,750 | Kings County, New York | -78,188 | -55,308 |
Collin County, Texas | 29,755 | 20,749 | Queens County, New York | -77,029 | -50,161 |
Denton County, Texas | 23,657 | 19,262 | Miami-Dade County, Florida | -38,132 | -47,597 |
Williamson County, Texas | 20,520 | 17,943 | Bronx County, New York | -61,394 | -41,473 |
Pinal County, Arizona | 14,075 | 17,463 | Orange County, California | -27,681 | -35,597 |
Fort Bend County, Texas | 17,796 | 15,757 | Dallas County, Texas | -18,985 | -34,330 |
Marion County, Florida | 13,409 | 15,167 | San Diego County, California | -15,956 | -30,745 |
Horry County, South Carolina | 17,294 | 15,061 | Santa Clara County, California | -33,302 | -29,077 |
US population center trending toward South this decade
But San Diego County still made the cut for the 10 most populous counites in the U.S. for 2023 coming in at No. 5 with a population of 3,269,973.
Top 10 Counties in Annual Numeric Decline: July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023
Rank | State | County | April 1, 2020 | July 1, 2022 | July 1, 2023 | Numeric Decline |
1 | California | Los Angeles County | 10,013,976 | 9,719,765 | 9,663,345 | -56,420 |
2 | New York | Kings County | 2,736,119 | 2,589,531 | 2,561,225 | -28,306 |
3 | New York | Queens County | 2,405,425 | 2,278,558 | 2,252,196 | -26,362 |
4 | New York | Bronx County | 1,472,653 | 1,381,808 | 1,356,476 | -25,332 |
5 | Illinois | Cook County | 5,275,555 | 5,111,566 | 5,087,072 | -24,494 |
6 | Pennsylvania | Philadelphia County | 1,603,793 | 1,566,836 | 1,550,542 | -16,294 |
7 | California | Orange County | 3,186,997 | 3,150,372 | 3,135,755 | -14,617 |
8 | Pennsylvania | Allegheny County | 1,250,536 | 1,232,605 | 1,224,825 | -7,780 |
9 | Michigan | Wayne County | 1,793,914 | 1,758,942 | 1,751,169 | -7,773 |
10 | California | San Diego County | 3,298,648 | 3,277,176 | 3,269,973 | -7,203 |
The census bureau found the three most populous U.S. metro areas in 2023 were New York-Newark-Jersey City (NY-NJ), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (CA), and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (IL-IN); with 73% of the country’s metro areas experiencing population growth from 2022 to 2023.
Top 10 Most Populous Counties: July 1, 2023
Rank | State | County | April 1, 2020 | July 1, 2022 | July 1, 2023 |
1 | California | Los Angeles County | 10,013,976 | 9,719,765 | 9,663,345 |
2 | Illinois | Cook County | 5,275,555 | 5,111,566 | 5,087,072 |
3 | Texas | Harris County | 4,731,122 | 4,781,337 | 4,835,125 |
4 | Arizona | Maricopa County | 4,425,102 | 4,555,833 | 4,585,871 |
5 | California | San Diego County | 3,298,648 | 3,277,176 | 3,269,973 |
6 |
| Orange County | 3,186,997 | 3,150,372 | 3,135,755 |
7 | Florida | Miami-Dade County | 2,701,776 | 2,673,056 | 2,686,867 |
8 | Texas | Dallas County | 2,611,481 | 2,601,993 | 2,606,358 |
9 | New York | Kings County | 2,736,119 | 2,589,531 | 2,561,225 |
10 | California | Riverside County | 2,418,182 | 2,474,241 | 2,492,442 |
Notably, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area surpassed 8 million residents between 2022 and 2023, the largest population increase of any U.S. metro areas in that time period.
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The number of counties with positive domestic migration — which means more people are entering than leaving an area — increased in all regions except the West, where just 253 counties experienced positive domestic migration in 2023, down from 275 counties in 2022.
“Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident,” Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, stated in a release. “Areas which experienced high levels of domestic out-migration during the pandemic, such as in the Midwest and Northeast, are now seeing more counties with population growth. Meanwhile, county population growth is slowing down out West, such as in Arizona and Idaho.”
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It’s tough to pinpoint an exact reason for the post-COVID mass exodus from San Diego County, but the skyrocketing housing prices could play a big part in it.
FOX 5/KUSI previously reported people looking to buy a home in San Diego now need to have an income of at least $273,613, according to a recent study by Zillow.
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Four years ago, a household making $59,000 a year could comfortably afford the monthly mortgage on a typical U.S. home, according to Zillow. The study found U.S. homebuyers now need to make more than $106,000 a year, which is much more than the median household income of $74,580, using the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The three other cities at the top of Zillow’s list of the most expensive areas to buy a home are all in the state of California. Listed with the household income required to “comfortably afford” a typical home, they are: San Jose ($454,296), San Francisco ($339,864) and Los Angeles ($279,250).
Pittsburgh, Memphis and Cleveland are listed by Zillow as the most affordable markets currently.
Nearby Los Angeles County had the highest numeric population decline: 56,420 left the area in 2023, the census bureau found.
San Diego County’s older population has grown over the last decade: census
Heading over to the East Coast, Kings, Queens and Bronx counties in New York followed with population losses of 28,306, 26,362, and 25,332, respectively.
Among other large declines were Cook County, Illinois, which lost 24,494 people; Philadelphia County, Penn. (-16,294); and nearby Orange County, Calif. (-14,617).
Overall, the U.S. counties with the fastest declines in populations in 2023 were Lassen County, Calif., Randolph County, Mo. and Bronx County, New York, the census bureau found.
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