The county’s 34 cities grew at a slower pace in the past 12 months as the development boom came to a halt.
Cities grew by 0.7%, or 21,339 people, for the 12 months through June, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
A year ago at this time, the cities grew by 1%, or 30,555 people.
In all, the cities have a little more than 3 million residents, accounting for all but a fraction of the county’s residents who live in unincorporated areas.
The list ranks cities by population based on figures from the cities and California Department of Finance. It also includes yearly revenue, city workers and large employers.
Revenue figures are best estimates for the 12 months through June and are subject to change as cities close their books.
Many budgets are likely to come in lower with funding cuts from Sacramento.
Projected revenue on the list was down slightly, by 0.1%, to a little more than $2 billion. On last year’s list, budgets grew by 2.3%.
The number of employees on city payrolls came in at 13,954, which was about flat compared to a year earlier. Many of the cities could see lower employment in late 2009 and 2010 as state budget cuts play out.
The housing market crash and a falloff in commercial development are factors in slower population growth.
The five largest cities—Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove—held more than 40% of the total population at nearly 1.3 million.
The largest city, Santa Ana, saw its population grow by 0.7% to 355,662. Santa Ana is California’s ninth largest city, and has more than doubled its population during the past couple of decades.
Hispanic immigration—both legal and illegal—has fueled the city’s population growth. About 75% of Santa Ana’s residents are Hispanic, with most of them from Mexico or of Mexican descent.
Projected revenue for the city for the 12 months through June slipped more than 3% to $204 million as Santa Ana took in less from taxes on property, sales, utilities and vehicle license fees.
“We didn’t see any dip in property taxes until this year,” said Catherine Standiford, assistant city manager.
The city employs 1,483 people.
Big employers include First American Corp., Freedom Communications Inc.’s Orange County Register and Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.
At a close second is Anaheim, which grew its population by half a percent, or 1,644, for a total of 348,467. Anaheim is California’s 10th largest city.
Boosted by Disneyland Resort, tourism and conventions, Anaheim has the largest revenue of all the county’s cities.
For the 12 months through June, the city’s preliminary revenue figure is estimated to be up nearly 8% to more than $267 million. Anaheim employs 2,163 people, the most of any city in the county.
Irvine, which a year ago overtook Huntington Beach as the county’s third-largest city, grew 1.4%, or by nearly 3,000 people, to 212,793 residents.
Its estimated revenue was up 1.3% to more than $139 million. City workers totaled 997.
At this time a year ago, Irvine posted a 4.3% growth rate as development of homes, condominiums and apartments attracted residents.
About 100 years younger than Santa Ana and Anaheim, Irvine still has room to grow.
Redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine Corps base and projects in the northern part of the city stand to add another 500,000 in the next two decades.
Irvine’s biggest employers are the University of California, Irvine, Irvine Unified School District, Irvine Company, Broadcom Corp. and Allergan Inc.
Increases, Declines
No. 4 Huntington Beach was up 0.2% to 202,480. No. 5 Garden Grove saw a 1.4% gain, or nearly 2,400, to 174,715 residents.
Redevelopment allowed the largely developed city to bring in more residents, according to Maria Stipe, an analyst with the city.
Projected revenue for the city was down about 5% to more than $75 million. Its worker count stood at 926.
There were no significant declines in the populations, though both No. 21 Rancho Santa Margarita and No. 29 Seal Beach saw declines of less than 100 people each.
No. 8 Costa Mesa saw the largest percentage increase as its population rose 2.2%, or about 2,500, to 116,479, benefiting from recent development. In terms of actual added residents, Costa Mesa’s 2,524 newcomers were second only to Irvine’s 2,987.
Projected revenue for Costa Mesa was up 3.6% to nearly $107 million. The city counts 611 workers.
