California’s great exodus finally slows as population increases after 3-year decline

California’s population grew for the first time in three years as legal immigration rebounded and the great California exodus during the COVID pandemic dramatically slowed as remote workers returned to the office, according to a state report released Tuesday.

The overall population gains were relatively small — a net increase of some 67,000 people to raise California’s population to 39.1 million people in 2023, according to the California Department of Finance.

Some Bay Area counties lost population...