New Census Population Data Track Age Trends -- March 26, 2004 -- California Capitol Hill Bulletin -- Volume 11, Bulletin 10

According to population data released recently by the Census Bureau, California leads the nation not only as the most populous state in 2003, but also as the state that added the most people between 2000 and 2003. The estimates were published by the Census Bureau on March 8, 2004.

California continues to rank first in population size, with the highest population count (35.5 million), followed by Texas (22.1 million), New York (19.2 million), Florida (17 million), and Illinois (12.7 million). California also placed first with respect to population growth as it added 1.6 million people from 2000 to 2003; it was trailed by Texas, which added 1.3 million within the same period, and Florida with 1 million added. The Census statistics also identified the following findings:

- California housed the highest number of adult residents (26.1 million) in 2003, followed by Texas (15.9 million), New York (14.7 million), Florida (13.1 million), and Pennsylvania (9.5 million).

- California added the highest number of adult residents (those 18 years of age or older) since 2000 (1.4 million). Texas followed in second place with the addition of 913,000 residents, while Florida took third place (759,000), and was followed by Georgia and New York (371,000 each). Nationally, 8.6 million adult residents were added, and California thus accounted for 16.3 percent of U.S. growth.

- California had the highest number of people 65 and over (3.8 million) in 2003, followed by Florida (2.9 million), New York (2.5 million), Texas (2.2 million) and Pennsylvania (1.9 million). In 2003, California represented 10.5 percent of the nation's 35.9 million persons over the age of 65.

- California added the largest highest number of people age 65 and over (169,000) between 2000 and 2003, followed by Texas (103,000), Florida (90,000), and North Carolina and Arizona (47,000 each). Nationally, this age group showed an increase of 927,000 people, so California's increase represented more than 18 percent of the nation's total rise.

- California had the highest total of elementary school-age children (4.8 million) in 2003, followed by Texas (3.1 million), New York (2.3 million), Florida (2 million) and Illinois (1.6 million). Nationally, there were 36.8 million children in this age group, so California accounted for more than 13 percent of the U.S. total.

- More than half of states experienced an increase in their high school-age population between 2000 and 2003, led by California (97,000), Florida (81,000), Texas (46,000), North Carolina (37,000), and New Jersey (34,000). Nationally, the increase was 429,000, and California thus represented 22.6 percent of the nation's total growth.

- California housed the highest number of high school-age children (2.1 million) in 2003, followed by Texas (1.3 million), New York (1 million), Florida (900,000), and Illinois (714,000). The total nationally was 16.5 million, and California thus represented 12.7 percent of the total.

To obtain more information about these statistics, please visit the U.S. Census Bureau website at: http://www.census.gov .

To expand communications between Washington and California, the California Institute provides periodic bulletins regarding current activity on Capitol Hill that directly impacts our state. Bulletins are published weekly during sessions of Congress, and occasionally during other periods.

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