California's population dropped by 500,000 in two years as exodus continues

© (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) At the Santa Monica pier, a family watches beachgoers in 2021. The population decrease was second only to New York, which lost about 15,000 more people than California, census data show. Nearly half — 113,048 — were from Los Angeles County, the most populous of California's 58 counties. His research showed that the bulk of departures in Los Angeles County were from the city of Los Angeles. As California's population has shrunk, some of the nation's most populous states have added people at a considerable rate.