Los Angeles County’s population is expected to grow by more than 1 million people by 2060, and Orange County is expected to add more than 435,000 people, according to projections released by the state Department of Finance.
Los Angeles County had more than 10.22 million residents in 2016, but the number is expected to rise to more than 11.25 million, and Orange County is expected to go from more than 3.18 million to more than 3.6 million.
The department also predicted that the state’s population would grow from 39 million to more than 51 million by 2060.
Among the biggest demographic shifts expected is in the Hispanic population, which is predicted to grow from around 5 million in 2015 to more than 6.39 million in 2060 in Los Angeles County.
Whites are expected to shrink in population, going from 2.7 million to 2.26 million. The black population is expected to see only small growth, and the Asian population is expected to get a little smaller.
Similar demographic changes are expected in Orange County, with the Hispanic population growing from roughly 1.1 million to 1.55 million, while whites are expected to shrink from around 1.31 million to 1.19 million. Blacks and Asians are expected to see moderate growth.
The study released this week found that by 2051, the state will experience more deaths than births due to an aging population, but that overall growth would continue due to migration.
Generation X — those born between 1965 and 1980 — are expected to overtake Baby Boomers in population size in 2019, with each making up about 20 percent of the population.
In Los Angeles County, the number of residents 65 or older in 2015 was around 1.073 million. State officials projected the number would spike by 2060 to over 3.446 million.
Orange County’s number of residents over 65 is also expected to spike from around 353,000 to more than 1.045 million.
Los Angeles County is also expected to remain by far the state’s most populous county, and Orange County is expected to stay the third largest.
— City News Service