Rivco's Growth Atop State Finance Department List
Rivco's Growth Atop State Finance Department List
The County of Riverside grew faster over the past year than any other county-and it doesn't matter whether you reckon by percentage or actual numbers.
The just-released State Department of Finance numbers aren't broken out by county districts, but you can be sure we've absorbed our fair share of that growth here in the Fourth District.
With an increase of 3.30 percent, Riverside County topped second place Imperial County, which grew by 3.16. With a numeric growth of 66,141, Rivco topped second place Los Angeles County which had 46,608 more people in fiscal year 2006-07 than it did the year before. The figure for Riverside County equates to about 7.5 people per hour, if our calculator is correct.
Currently, at 2,070,315, Riverside County is the fourth largest, behind Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange amongst the state's 58 counties. L.A. County's population of 10,294,280 contrasts with Alpine County's 1,261. But Alpine is trying to catch up: it grew by seven people in the latest figures. Only Plumas and Sierra Counties lost population.
All this growth in Riverside County does not come as a surprise to county planners. Historically inexpensive housing in Riverside County is still affordable compared to the coastal counties. And job growth continues at a brisk rate, while people are still attracted to the County because of its mountains and desert.
So. Is all this Riverside County growth a good thing or a bad thing?
On the one hand, you have more opportunities to shop for virtually anything-from housing to entertainment to groceries. On the other, you have the growing pains: traffic, strain on infrastructure, conversion of the natural environment to other uses.
The County of Riverside is working diligently to meet these challenges. Habitat conservation plans have been mapped out for both the western end of the County and also in the Coachella Valley. Improving existing roads, and building new roads and bridges is a high priority.
Good or bad, here are the numbers from the State Department of Finance.