San Diego County's population topped 3.3 million for the first time in July, the state Department of Finance reported Monday.
The agency released population estimates for all 58 counties and the state as a whole.
San Diego's population as of July 1 was estimated to be 3.301 million, an addition of about 26,000 from the same day last year. The total is the second-largest in the state, behind Los Angeles County's 10.2 million. Included in the region's estimate were roughly 43,000 births and 21,000 deaths, along with a net loss of about 14,000 people to migration.
During the year, the statewide population grew by around 300,000 to 39.35 million. The agency also reported that California's birth rate fell to 12.4 per 1,000 people, the lowest in state history. The death rate rose to 6.7 per 1,000 due to the aging of the baby boomer generation.
The population estimates are developed using data from a variety of sources, including birth and death counts provided by the Department of Public Health; the number of driver's licenses and driver's license address changes from the Department of Motor Vehicles; housing unit data from local governments; school enrollment data from the Department of Education; and federal income tax return data from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, according to the Department of Finance.
