A decade of growth: Fresno County reaches big population milestone in 2020 US Census count
Fresno County added more than 78,000 people to its population during the 2010s, bolstering the official count in the 2020 decennial U.S. Census to more than 1 million residents.
Census figures released Thursday put the county’s population at 1,008,654 residents as of April 1, 2020, compared to the last official tally of 930,450 from the 2010 Census. State and federal officials have estimated the county’s population at more than 1 million for several years, but the every-10-years Census provides the formal benchmark that will be used for not only redrawing boundaries for state legislative and congressional districts, but also for allocating funds from myriad federal spending programs.
The increase of 78,204 people in Fresno County amounts to an 8.4% gain over the decade.
Population changes in neighboring central San Joaquin Valley counties were:
- Kings County: A decrease from 152,982 residents in 2010 to 152,486 in 2020 – a loss of 456 or 0.3%.
- Madera County: An increase from 150,865 in 2010 to 156,255 in 2020 – a gain of 5,390 or 3.6%
- Mariposa County: A decrease from 18,251 in 2010 to 17,131 in 2020 – a loss of 1,120 or 6.1%.
- Merced County: An increase from 255,793 in 2010 to 281,202 in 2020 – a gain of 25,409, or 9.9%, the largest percentage increase among Valley counties.
- Tulare County: An increase from 442,179 in 2010 to 473,117 in 2020 – a gain of 30,938 or 7.0%.
Fresno’s population is now counted as 542,107 residents, an increase of more than 47,000 or 9.6% from the 494,665 reported in the 2010 Census. That keeps Fresno as the fifth largest among California’s cities behind Los Angeles (almost 4.9 million people), San Diego (about 1.4 million), San Jose (just over 1 million), and San Francisco (873,965).
Fresno ranks ahead of No. 6 Sacramento (524,943), while Long Beach (466,742), Oakland (440,646), Bakersfield (403,455), and Anaheim (346,824) round out the ten largest cities in the state.
Statewide, California’s overall population rose from almost 37.3 million in 2010 to more than 39.5 million last year – an increase of almost 2.3 million or 6.1%.
The 2020 Census was marked by delays in collecting information from households caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a corresponding delay in compiling the information for Thursday’s data release.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 2:53 PM.
