California has seen a population decline of more than 1 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 500,000 people leaving between April 2020 and July 2022. In the state where annual wildfires and treacherous mudslides threaten homes, the population dipped by slightly more than 508,000 since 2020. San Francisco and Lassen counties experienced the largest population declines, at 7.1 percent and 7.5 percent respectively.