Beaumont Is Fastest-Growing City In Riverside County: Census Data

SAN GORGONIO PASS AREA, CA — Over the last 10 years, Beaumont has grown faster than any other city in Riverside County, according to newly released 2020 census data.

Conversely, Banning saw a slight decline in its population over the last decade, the data show.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday released new statistics that illustrate population changes for the nation, states and communities down to the block level. The data, which shows an increase in the population of the nation's metro areas compared to a decade ago, also shows population changes in smaller cities.

The data represents where people were living as of April 1, 2020.

Since 2010, Beaumont has grown by 16,159 people to a population of 53,036 according to the 2020 census. The change represents a 43.82 percent increase.

In Riverside County, the City of Lake Elsinore ranked second highest in growth over the last 10 years with an increase of 18,444 people to a population of 70,265, according to the 2020 census. The change represents a 35.59 percent increase, the largest for any California city that had a population of more than 50,000 during the 2010 census.

Another Southwest Riverside County city that had significant growth over the 10-year period was Menifee. It ranked just behind Lake Elsinore for California cities with populations greater than 50,000. Menifee saw its population jump by 25,008 people to 102,527, or 32.26 percent, during the last decade, according to the 2020 census.

The figures showed a different picture for Banning, where the total population declined by .33 percent over the last decade. Since 2010, Banning lost 98 residents; the total population now stands at 29,505, according to the 2020 census. Related article: Banning Mayor Wants Population Tripled In 10 Years

Several cities located near the Pass Area did see population increases over the last 10 years. Calimesa, Moreno Valley, and San Jacinto increased by 27.25 percent, 7.9 percent, and 21.94 percent respectively.

Overall, Riverside County grew by 228,544 people to a total population of 2,418,185. California grew by 2,284,267 people to a total population of 39,538,223.

Since the 2010 census, the population of U.S. metro areas has grown by 9 percent. Eighty-six percent of the country's population was living in metro areas in 2020, compared to 85 percent in 2010.

Metro areas in the south and western United States saw the most growth, according to Marc Perry, a senior demographer at the Census Bureau.

"However, as we've been seeing in our annual population estimates, our nation is growing slower than it used to," Perry said in a news release. "This decline is evident at the local level, where around 52 percent of the counties in the United States saw their 2020 census populations decrease from their 2010 census populations."

Here are some other interesting findings from the data:

• The largest city in the United States in 2020 remains New York, with 8.8 million people.

• The largest county in the United States in 2020 remains Los Angeles County, with over 10 million people.

• The fastest-growing U.S. metro area between the 2010 and 2020 censuses was The Villages, FL, which grew 39 percent, from about 93,000 people to about 130,000.

• The U.S. metro areas with the largest declines in population were Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Danville, Illinois, losing 12.5 percent and 9.1 percent of their populations, respectively.

Read more about the 2020 U.S. Census results.