<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 37,253,956 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 10.0% </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="4"> Sources: 1910 - 2010 </Td> </Tr> <P> California is the most populous sub-national entity in North America . If it were an independent country, California would rank 34th in population in the world . It has a larger population than either Canada or Australia . Its population is one third larger than that of the next largest state, Texas . California surpassed New York to become the most populous state in 1962 . However, according to the Los Angeles Times, California's population growth has slowed dramatically in the 21st century . In 2010, the state's five most populous counties were Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County, with Riverside County having the largest percentage increase in population . The largest metro areas in California, as of 2010, are Los Angeles, San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose, San Diego, Riverside - San Bernardino, and Sacramento . Fresno also has a metropolitan area of over one million residents . </P> <P> As of 2006, California had an estimated population of 37,172,015, more than 12 percent of the U.S. population . This includes a natural increase since the last census of 1,557,112 people (that is 2,781,539 births minus 1,224,427 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 751,419 people . Immigration resulted in a net increase of 1,415,879 people, and migration from within the U.S. produced a net decrease of 564,100 people . California is the 13th fastest - growing state . As of 2008, the total fertility rate was 2.15 . The most recent census reports the population of California is 39,144,818 . </P>

When did california become the most populous state