Paradise was the fastest growing city in California in 2023 and Orland was third, according to estimates released this week by the state.
The Department of Finance estimated that between Jan. 1, 2023, and Jan. 1 of this year, Paradise grew by 16.1 percent. The town added 1,486 residents for a new population at the start of the year of 10,691.
Second place wasn’t even close. That was Lathrop in San Joaquin County, which grew 5.4 percent.
Orland came in third with a 4.9 percent growth rate, adding 396 residents for a new total of 8,537.
Paradise has led state growth figures for several years, reflecting the rebuilding in the wake of the Camp Fire in 2018.
However the state thinks Butte County as a whole lost population last year. It reported a 0.3 percent decline to 205,928. That’s 651 fewer residents here than at the start of 2023.
Chico was the only other city in the county with a positive growth rate, rising 1.8 percent to 109,589. That’s an increase of 1,950 people.
Oroville was down 3.8 percent according to the state, losing 712 residents for a new total of 10,691. Gridley lost 4.1 percent of its residents — 300 people — to total 6,935. Biggs dropped 5 percent to 1,853, a loss of 98 people.
Unincorporated communities like Durham and Magalia are not included in the annual estimates. The estimates are used to determine state appropriations to city and county governments, among other things.
However unincorporated Butte County lost population, dropping 4.8 percent to 58,731, a loss of 2,977 people.
Glenn County was estimated to have positive growth in the past year, though not as fast as Orland. The whole county was up 1.4 percent to 28,736. Glenn ranked third in the state, behind Sutter and Imperial counties.
Willows rose 0.1 percent to 6,321.
Among other north valley counties, Tehama was down 0.6 percent to 64,308. Shasta was statistically unchanged at 179,195, adding just 73 people. Colusa was down 0.4 percent to 21,743. Yuba was up 1.1 percent to 82,721 and Sutter rose 1.9 percent to 100,110.
The statewide total in 2023 was up 0.17 percent to 39,128,162, an increase of just over 67,000 people. That’s a change from 2022 and 2021when the state actually lost population for the first time since the Gold Rush in 1849.