According to California Dept. of Finance, the County's population grew by just 9,952 between 7/1/08 and 7/1/09. That's the first time in at least 29 years that the County's population grew by fewer than 10,000 people. The growth rate of 0.48% is the lowest among the seven counties of Southern California, and is nearly half the rate of the State's average (0.93%). What's more worrisome is the trend in net migration (people moving in minus people moving out), which was -11,500 during that period. Traditionally the County draws in large number of migrants, both domestically and internationally. However, since the housing crisis began, the County has seen a worsening trend of negative net domestic migration. Although the overall growth rate remained positive, the large amount of out-migration means that demand for housing may be lower, which will have an impact on the speed of the housing market recovery. Migration has much larger impact on housing demand than natural increase [births minus deaths].
Link to data: http://www.dof.ca.gov/research/demographic/reports/estimates/e-2/2000-09/
