San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA vs. California Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 2022 Population = 1,938,524 2022 Percent of State = 0.67% California: 2022 Population = 39,029,342 2022 Percent of U.S. = 11.71% Attracting and retaining people to live, work, raise a family, and retire underlies the economic vitality of any region. Population growth is both a cause--and a consequence--of economic growth. Patterns of population growth and change reflect differences among regions to attract and retain people both as producers and consumers in their economy. The following graphs offer a broad overview of trends in the pattern of population growth and change of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA with comparisons to California and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA vs. California's population growth over 1969-2022. The data used are those compiled by the Regional Income and Product Divisions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 1. Figure 1 traces the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population rose from 1,051,545 in 1969 to 1,938,524 in 2022, for a net gain of 886,979, or 84.35%. NOTE: The county and state population totals reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are from the Bureau of Census midyear (July 1) estimates. These estimates may differ from those prepared independently in some states by various agencies and/or universities. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 tracks California's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, California's population rose from 19,711,000 in 1969 to 39,029,342 in 2022, for a net gain of 19,318,342, or 98.01%. NOTE: The county and state population totals reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are from the Bureau of Census midyear (July 1) estimates. These estimates may differ from those prepared independently in some states by various agencies and/or universities. Population Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with California, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's population in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the populations in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in population growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's overall population growth was 84.35% over 1969-2022 trailed California's increase of 98.01%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the California Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the population growth of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA is to compare its individual percentage contributions to California's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than California's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population totaled 5.33% of California's population, while in 2022 it comprised 4.97% thereby yielding a -0.37% share-shift.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average. On average, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population grew at an annual rate of 1.17% over 1970-2022. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA recorded its highest growth in 1970 (3.63%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2021 (-2.12%). In 2022, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population declined by -0.75% San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some msas have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's population since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's annual population growth rate averaged 2.12%. It averaged 1.71% during the 1980s, 1.17% in the 1990s, 0.55% during the 2000s, 0.98% in the 2010s, -1.14% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 7. Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for California and the nation. As the chart reveals, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA's average annual population growth led California's average in the 1970s (2.12% vs. 1.67%), lagged California's average during the 1980s (1.71% vs. 2.31%), fell below California's average in the 1990s (1.17% vs. 1.38%), trailed California's average in the 2000s (0.55% vs. 0.99%), led California's average throughout the 2010s (0.98% vs. 0.68%), and amounted to less than California's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-1.14% vs. -0.44%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA exceeded the nation in the 1970s (2.12% vs. 1.10%), outpaced the nation during the 1980s (1.71% vs. 0.95%), posted below the nation during the 1990s (1.17% vs. 1.23%), recorded underneath the nation over the 2000s (0.55% vs. 0.95%), surpassed the nation throughout the 2010s (0.98% vs. 0.74%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (-1.14% vs. 0.31%).
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