Department of Finance
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Sacramento, CA 95814

E-6. Population Estimates and Components of Change by County — July 1, 2010–2011

December 2011

• E-6. Population Estimates and Components of Change by County — July 1, 2010-2011 (.xls, <1 MB)

Contents

OFFICIAL STATE ESTIMATES  

This report presents preliminary state and county population estimates for July 1, 2011, revised estimates for July 1, 2010, and components of population change.

Highlights

California’s population grew less than one percent between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011 according to official population estimates released today by the State Department of Finance.  This represents 260,000 new residents during the fiscal year and continues the pattern of modest growth rates over the past few years.  The current growth rate of 0.70 percent is a slight increase over last year’s growth of 0.65 percent.

As in the last decade, natural increase remains the primary source of the state’s growth.  The natural increase of 283,000 in the past year is composed of roughly 511,000 births minus 228,000 deaths.  This accounted for all of the 2010-11 fiscal year growth.  Net outmigration reduced the population by 22,000 residents.  Net migration includes all legal and unauthorized foreign immigrants, residents who left the state to live abroad, and the balance of hundreds of thousands of people moving within the United States both to and from California.  During the fiscal year, the state gained about 132,000 new foreign immigrants and lost 154,000 domestic migrants to other states.  This is similar to the annual net domestic outmigration of the prior five years during which California experienced losses exceeding 100,000 persons to other states.

Since the national census on April 1, 2010, the state has grown by 325,000 persons.  The July 1, 2011 population estimates are benchmarked to the 2010 Census.

Methodology

The state and county populations are independently estimated using population change models benchmarked on official decennial census counts. The state population is estimated using the Driver License Address Change method. County population proportions are estimated using the average of three separately estimated sets of proportions. The final distribution of proportions is applied to the independently estimated state control.

State Estimate. The state population is estimated using the Driver License Address Change (DLAC) Method. This composite method separately estimates the population under age 18, 18 through 64, and 65 years and older. Administrative records such as births, deaths, driver license address changes, tax return data, Medicare and Medi-Cal enrollment, immigration reports, elementary school enrollments, and group quarters population are among the data used in this method. All data are in summary tables and do not reveal the identity of any individual.

County Estimates. County population proportions result from averaging three methods.

DLAC Method. A modified version of the state Driver License Address Change (DLAC) method is used for counties. County proportions of the state total result from changes in county population values for births, deaths, school enrollment, foreign and domestic migration, medical aid enrollments, and group quarters population.

Ratio-Correlation Method. This method models change in household population as a function of changes in the distributions of driver licenses, school enrollments, housing units, and deaths. Estimates of county group quarters are added.

Tax Return Method. County proportions are derived by the U.S. Census Bureau using matched federal income tax returns to estimate inter-county migration along with vital statistics, group quarters, and other information for the population aged 65 and over.

Data Considerations

Sources. Data used in estimation models come from administrative records of 17 state and federal departments and agencies. Timeliness and coverage in these series vary. Corrections, adjustments or estimates may be made while preparing the estimates.

Accuracy. In general, estimates become less precise as the time from the last census increases.  Data and models used to produce population estimates are subject to both measurement and nonmeasurement errors.  This results in imperfect correlation between the data used to estimate the population and actual population change.  The data and estimating models have been thoroughly tested with decennial census results that provide benchmarks for the estimates series.  Data and methods are further refined and modified throughout the decade.

Acknowledgments

Linda Gage produced the state and county estimates and prepared this report.  Melanie Martindale produced the birth projections.  Douglas Kuczynski collected and prepared the group quarters data.  Evaon Schnagl produced the school enrollment projections, prepared the driver's license address change data, and validated input data, formulas and methodologies used in the current state and county estimates series.

Suggested Citation

State of California, Department of Finance, Population Estimates and Components of Change by County, July 1, 2010-2011. Sacramento, California, December 2011.

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