California’s growth rate at record low as more people leave

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — More people are leaving California than moving here, continuing a trend that coupled with fewer births has slowed the growth rate in the nation's most populous state to a record low amid a pandemic that is reshaping its future. Officially, California added 21,200 people from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2020, increasing the state's population a paltry 0.05% to 39.78 million people — still by far the most of any state. But the bigger news from Wednesday's new population estimate was that 135,600 more people left the state than moved here. It's only the 12th time since 1900 the state has had a net migration loss, and the third largest ever recorded. California became a state in 1850 after a gold rush spurred a massive migration of people moving west to seek