For the first time in more than a decade, San Benito County is
not among the fastest-growing areas in the state, dropping to 33rd
out of 58 counties, according to statistics from the state’s
Department of Finance.
For the first time in more than a decade, San Benito County is not among the fastest-growing areas in the state, dropping to 33rd out of 58 counties, according to statistics from the state’s Department of Finance.
Throughout the 1990s, the county’s population growth averaged approximately 4 percent each year – about 1,700 new residents annually or the equivalent of adding the population of a new San Juan Bautista every 12 months.
However, during the past year, the county’s population grew by only 800 people, or slightly more than 1.4 percent growth.
“That is a very abrupt and distinct decline in population growth,” Assistant County Administrative Officer Terrence May said.
May, who has been analyzing the population statistics, said the drop in population began in 2001 when growth dipped to just 2.6 percent, or 1,400 new residents, the lowest growth rate since 1990 when it was 2.7 percent.
May said the county’s 1.45 percent growth rate was due largely to the highest increase in local births in more than 13 years, with 983 babies born in San Benito County between July 1, 2001 and July 1, 2002.
But, the birth increase was offset by a total of 272 deaths during the same period for a natural increase of 711.
Also, for the first time in more than 13 years, the county saw more people, 324, move from the area to places such as Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky than move into the county from any other state.
The loss of 324 residents to other states was made up by the immigration of 413 people from outside the country, the statistics cited.
May said the increase of 800 residents in 2002 is about 200 fewer people than the combined 2.5 percent and 1 percent growth control measures by the City of Hollister and county government.
Also, the rapid decline in population growth can be attributed to three unexpected factors working in concert.
First, the sewer moratorium on the city of Hollister has all but brought home building to a halt until 2005.
“With no new homes to move into, the number of new people moving into the county stays low,” May said.
Second, the economic downturn in the Silicon Valley contributed to the population drop during the past year. The high-tech frenzy that peaked in 2000 is over and one out every five of those jobs is gone, the Department of Finance said.
Currently, 34.9 percent of the county’s available workforce was commuting to Santa Clara County for work.
With the loss of those high paying jobs, a number of residents could no longer afford to live in the county, which still has one of the highest cost-of-living ratios in the state.
And third, according to officials, some of the locally enacted growth control measures have reportedly made the fast-growing communities along the I-5 corridor more attractive to developers and builders.
