SLO County’s population grew by smallest amount since 1940, new census data shows
San Luis Obispo County’s population grew in the past 10 years, but only just barely.
In fact, it was the smallest amount of population growth for San Luis County since the 1940 U.S. census, and the slowest rate of growth in the census’ modern history.
According to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the 2020 Decennial Census, the population of San Luis Obispo County reached 282,424 people as of April 1, 2020 — an increase of a little more than 12,700 people.
That means the county population grew by roughly 4.7% in the past decade, a significantly lower percentage than the nearly 9% growth reported in the previous census in 2010.
The last time San Luis Obispo County added so few people between censuses was in the 1940 release, when the county jumped from 29,613 to 33,246 residents — an increase of about 3,633 people. Because the population was much smaller, the rate of growth that decade was 12.3%.
Going back to the start of the 20th century, San Luis Obispo County population growth has never dipped quite as low as this past decade’s 4.7%. The last time it was lower was the 1900 census, which showed an mere 3.5% population increase over the 1890 population estimate.
Basically, San Luis Obispo County’s population is still growing, but that growth is markedly slower than anyone alive has ever seen.
Experts warn some of the data from the latest census could be skewed by the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, so the data in general should be treated as estimates.
Here are some more insights from the latest population data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, including which cities and communities saw big gains, and which saw their populations shrink.
North County grows more than rest of SLO County
Despite explosive gains in the 2010 census, growth in the North County showed significant slowing in the 2020 census — though it was still growing more than any other area of San Luis Obispo County.
Though North County cities and communities continued to report the biggest population gains in the most recent census release, even those areas saw significant slowing of growth.
As of April 1, 2020, about 75,378 residents lived in the northern, inland part of San Luis Obispo County. That’s a roughly 6.5% increase in the past decade, much lower than the 22% increase reported in 2010.
The biggest city in the area continues to be Paso Robles, with about 31,490 residents in 2020 — up a little less than 6% from the 2010 census population. Atascadero and Templeton’s populations increased to 29,733 and 8,386 residents, respectively.
The big winner in population gains across the county was San Miguel, which grew by about 36% over the past decade to 3,172 residents.
Notably, the town has almost doubled in size in the past 20 years, according to the census data.
In the most recent census, San Miguel surpassed Cayucos in population — the only San Luis Obispo County community to overtake another in terms of size.
Meanwhile, the populations of Santa Margarita and Creston stayed virtually the same — 1,291 and 98, respectively — while Shandon’s population dropped by 127 people to 1,168.
The North County was the only region in San Luis Obispo County where the majority of communities grew in the past decade.
Grover Beach, Oceano populations drop in South County
Population changes in the South County were a mixed bag in 2020.
According to the latest census data, about 66,149 people lived in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County as of April 1, 2020.
That’s an increase of just under 4% from the 2010 census, and a much slower rate of growth than the almost 9% increase in population reported that year.
Though the overall number went up, several major communities actually lost residents.
Grover Beach had the biggest population decrease in the entire county, losing about 455 people in the past decade. That brought the city’s population to 12,701.
Meanwhile, the neighboring community of Oceano also lost residents, dropping to a population of 7,183.
The much smaller Avila Beach community also shrank, with an estimated population of 1,576 as of 2020.
Though half of the region’s census-recognized communities lost residents, the other three saw significant gains.
Pismo Beach, which reported a drastic population drop in the 2010 census, reported a roughly 5.5% population increase in 2020, growing to 8,072 residents.
Nipomo and Arroyo Grande both added more than 1,100 new residents in the past decade.
Arroyo Grande was still the region’s largest city with 18,411 residents as of April 1, 2020, while Nipomo was close behind in size with 18,176 residents.
Notably Grover Beach, Pismo Beach and Oceano all now have populations smaller than their population in 2000.
North Coast growth stagnates while city of SLO grows
The city of San Luis Obispo was the only San Luis Obispo County community where the rate of population growth has steadily gone up over the past two censuses.
According to the data, San Luis Obispo’s population grew 4.3% to 47,063 residents as of April 1, 2020. In 2010, the city grew by about 2%.
It continues to be the largest city in San Luis Obispo County.
Meanwhile, the North Coast saw virtually no change in total population. The region grew by less than 1% in 2020 to a total population of 33,850 residents — but most of its communities actually shrunk.
The populations in Cambria, Cayucos and San Simeon all decreased.
Cambria’s population dropped the most, about 5.9%, to 5,678 residents in 2020.
Cayucos fell 3.4% to 2,505 residents. And San Simeon lost 17 residents — a 3.7% decrease that left it with a total population of 445.
Though its smaller communities all shrank, the North Coast’s two largest communities — Morro Bay and Los Osos — both grew.
Los Osos added 189 new residents between 2010 and 2020, bringing its population to 14,465.
The big winner on the North Coast, however, was Morro Bay, which grew by about 523 residents in the past 10 years. That 5.1% increase that brings its total population to 10,757.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 3:24 PM.
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