[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap] year ahead of the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau has released estimates showing that nearly 13,000 residents moved out of L.A. County between July of 2017 and July of 2018, sparking ongoing discussion about the role that rising costs and the L.A. housing crisis have in the county's shifting demographics.
The average price of a home in L.A. went up 8 percent between January 2017 and January 2018, according to a Curbed LA report. The median rental price during that time period was about 33 percent higher than the rest of the country.
The Census Bureau didn’t give a reason for the small population drain; that’ll be up to local researchers to figure out. Los Angeles still ranks as the most populous county in the country with nearly 10.1 million residents, almost twice as much as second place Cook County (Chicago) and its 5.1 million residents. And we are still the nation’s second largest city behind New York.
A census, or a formal counting of the country’s population, is required by the U.S. Constitution to take place every ten years. The census serves not only to gather raw numbers and demographics of the country’s residents, but also to divy up congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. It also decides how to use nearly $400 billion in annual federal spending.
That same Census data is then used by legislatures to draw both state-level legislative districts and to decide on state spending projects, including schools. The data is also used to appoint electors in the U.S. Electoral College, who formally elect the president and vice president of the United States after the popular vote is counted during presidential elections.