After decades of growth, California’s population is projected to remain flat, overall, for the next 40 years. That’s according to current projections of the State Department of Finance. It says there will always be pockets of increases, especially in the Sacramento region and Central Valley. But the largest declines are predicted in many of the rural counties. And that includes a projected drop of over 14-thousand residents in Nevada County, or down to 87-thousand by 2060. The decline began last year. County Planner Brian Foss says even though that’s spread over four decades, he was surprised by what he terms a pretty significant drop of 14-percent…

click to listen to Brian Foss

Foss says business growth would also be impacted, with fewer jobs available. In addition to the high number of seniors here, with a lower birth rate, the lack of available and affordable housing would also be a factor, if that kind of decline becomes a reality…

click to listen to Brian Foss

The largest projected population drop, by far, is in Lassen County, or 51-percent. El Dorado County could lose 16-percent. But elsewhere in the Sacramento region, Butte County is predicted to have the biggest growth, followed closely by Placer, Yuba, and Sacramento counties. That’s attributed to the migration from the increasingly expensive coastal counties.