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Demographic Profiles of San Luis Obispo County

The population in the San Luis Obispo County is growing at a steady and manageable pace.  Migration from other areas, primarily the Bay Area and Los Angeles, is the major contribution to the population growth in the County.  The migration has been steadily increasing and in 2001 it was approximately 3,681, and according to the 2005 UCSB San Luis Obispo County Economic Outlook, the migration is projected to stay approximately the same over the next few years.  However, natural increases in the County population have been decreasing while the death rate has remained relatively stable.  So as the birth rate has been dropping over the last decade the median age of a SLO County resident has been demonstrating an increasing trend. As of 2005 the median age is 38.5.

Population in San Luis Obispo County
	1995	2005
Total Population	230,223	264,109
Net in Migration	1,224	3,528
Births	2,699	2,714
Deaths	1,799	2,057
Natural Increase	900	657
Population Change	2,124	4,185
Source: UCSB Economic Forecast Project, The 2005 San Luis Obispo County Economic Outlook

With the increasing population, rising personal income and retail sales, San Luis Obispo County is experiencing strong economic growth.  According to the 2005 UCSB San Luis Obispo County Economic Outlook, this trend is likely to persist in the near future.  Many businesses and people continue to come to explore the many opportunities the County has to offer.

Source: UCSB Economic Forecast Project, The 2005 San Luis Obispo Economic Outlook, California Employment Development Department

Ethnicity

As with the rest of the state of California, San Luis Obispo County continues to become more ethnically and racially diverse.  The trend is demonstrated by the steady increases in both the Black/African American and the Latino populations. The Latino population showed a large increase over the last decade from 16.3% in 2000 to 19.09% in 2005 and the African American population saw an increase from approximately 1.9% in 2000 to 2.18% in 2005. 22,568 members or 9.5% of the community are foreign born and 36,165 or 15.9% of the population over the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home. The information below is an estimate and is subject to a margin of error within one or two percent.

San Luis Obispo County Population by Ethnicity
Race	1995	2004	Percent*
Total Population	246,681	238,502	100.00%
White	208,699	210,369	88.2%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	40,196	40,433	17%
Asian	6,568	7,562	3.2%
Black or African American	5,002	5365	2.1%
Other	15,312	9,952	4.2%
Total can be over 100% because Hispanic can be counted in other races Source: US Census Bureau
*Based on 2004 Census **Race Alone

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