2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop Navigates the ‘New Growth Reality’

More than 460 people attended the 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop on Sept. 24 for a fact-based discussion about how to plan for the future of Southern California as demographic trends continue to diverge from the rapid population growth of past decades. The 35th annual event was hosted by SCAG and the USC Price School of Public Policy.

Highlights of the 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop included the presentation and publication of a new report by SCAG demographers providing insight into American Community Survey data released earlier in September by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data released on Sept. 12, 2024, provide comprehensive data on Southern California’s social, demographic, economic, and housing conditions, capturing the region’s recovery following the pandemic.

According to the report, 2023 ACS data shows that real household income growth in Southern California outpaced national growth over the past year and the last decade, reflecting long-term economic well-being for the region’s median household. New data also reveal population growth stabilizing while employment and productivity are still rising in Southern California—counter to the prevailing media narrative about the state’s decline. This will require new thinking from local and regional planners to maintain economic productivity and improve quality of life for all Southern Californians.

The event also included three panels, a keynote speaker, and a series of roundtables for participants to consider how the demographic trends of the past decade, including the historic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, will impact the economic realities of the region and day-to-day considerations like mobility and public health.

Event panels included a presentation and discussion of the latest long-term demographic projections for California and its counties by the California Department of Finance and the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year population estimates; a discussion of the “New Growth Reality” and how new demographic trends can be harnessed for the economic and environmental benefit of the entire, diverse region of Southern California; and close attention to how regional trends will affect the diverse local communities—especially historically underserved low-income communities and communities of color.

The event’s keynote speaker, Bill Fulton, FAICP, noted planning thought leader, author, and former mayor of the city of Ventura, discussed how Southern California can learn lessons from other states and adjust to an era in which prosperity is no longer determined by the pace of population growth.

The resources shared at the event are now available at the event website.

SCAG looks forward to continuing the conversation at the upcoming 2025 Regional Conference and General Assembly on May 1-2, 2025, in Palm Desert.