"First, here's the suggested California split. One state let's call it West California comprises 17 ocean-close counties from the Bay Area to the Mexican border. It stretches from Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties through Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara to Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego. The second proposed state let's call it East California holds the 41 other largely inland counties."
"As of July 1, there were 26.3 million folks in West California essentially double the 13.2 million in East California. Please contemplate the heft of these two regions. The only state with more residents than my West California is Texas. And only Texas, Florida and New York are more populated than the theoretical East California. So we're still talking about national behemoths."
"Since the pandemic struck, population swings between the regions have clearly differed. The statewide population was roughly flat from April 2020 through July 2025 a 9,000-person dip. Yet there was a combined 248,000 drop in West California vs. a gain of 239,000 in East California. Look at what's behind that gap, in demographic terms, remembering that West California has double the population."
One proposed division creates West California, comprising 17 coastal counties from Sonoma through San Diego, and East California, comprising the remaining 41 largely inland counties. West California counts about 26.3 million residents, roughly double East California's 13.2 million. Only Texas exceeds West California in population, and only Texas, Florida and New York exceed East California. From April 2020 through July 2025 the statewide population was roughly flat, but West California experienced a combined decline of about 248,000 while East California gained about 239,000. These figures reflect distinct demographic dynamics between coastal and inland regions.
Read at www.ocregister.com
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