10 Fastest Growing Cities In California [2025]

Is being in an area of California that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?

Depends on who you ask.

Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Los Angeles and San Diego, while others want peace and quiet like in Big Bear Lake and Jackson, thank you very much.

But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in California have grown the fastest.

After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Golden State that have people climbing over each other to get in.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In California For 2025

What’s the fastest growing city in California for 2025? Based on the most recent ACS data, Lathrop ranks as the fastest-growing city in California. If you happen to be a resident of Lathrop, you’re probably not surprised to find it on our list.

If you’re surprised — and you’re wondering why these places are a big deal — keep reading. We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 places in California grow like weeds.

For more California state reading:

The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In California For 2025

1. Lathrop

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 32,696
Population 2010: 17,040
Percent Growth 91.9%
Absolute Growth: 15,656
More on Lathrop: Data

2. Beaumont

Source: Wikipedia User YonderStone | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 54,817
Population 2010: 32,847
Percent Growth 66.9%
Absolute Growth: 21,970
More on Beaumont: Data

3. Dublin

Source: Wikipedia User Original uploader was Walkiped at en.wikipedia | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 70,542
Population 2010: 42,657
Percent Growth 65.4%
Absolute Growth: 27,885
More on Dublin: Data

4. Imperial

Source: Flickr User el cajon yacht club | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 20,943
Population 2010: 13,406
Percent Growth 56.2%
Absolute Growth: 7,537
More on Imperial: Data

5. Irvine

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 308,160
Population 2010: 199,117
Percent Growth 54.8%
Absolute Growth: 109,043
More on Irvine: Data

6. Menifee

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 107,020
Population 2010: 72,494
Percent Growth 47.6%
Absolute Growth: 34,526
More on Menifee: Data

7. Lake Elsinore

Source: Wikipedia User miheco | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 71,516
Population 2010: 48,644
Percent Growth 47.0%
Absolute Growth: 22,872
More on Lake Elsinore: Data

8. Rio Vista

Source: Wikipedia User Brocken Inaglory | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 10,002
Population 2010: 6,874
Percent Growth 45.5%
Absolute Growth: 3,128
More on Rio Vista: Data

9. Brentwood

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 64,609
Population 2010: 46,283
Percent Growth 39.6%
Absolute Growth: 18,326
More on Brentwood: Data

10. Lincoln

Source: Wikipedia User ThaGreenlander | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 51,629
Population 2010: 37,771
Percent Growth 36.7%
Absolute Growth: 13,858
More on Lincoln: Data

Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Golden State for 2025

To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:

Current Population
Population in 2010
Growth rate from 2010 to Current (The latest available data which came out in Dec 2023)

We ranked all 426 California cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.

The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Golden State.

And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula:

[Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010]

The data has been updated for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the fastest growing cities in California.

Here’s a graph of the cities in California with the most significant percent increase in population:

Click to enlarge

Most Dangerous Cities In California

Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In California, You Know?

So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in California are led by Lathrop which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.

The fastest-growing cities in California are Lathrop, Beaumont, Dublin, Imperial, Irvine, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Rio Vista, Brentwood, and Lincoln.

It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!

These places have been growing (or shrinking) the slowest (fastest):

Paradise
Ione
Taft

For more California reading, check out:

Fastest Growing Places In California For 2025

Rank	City	Population	Population 2010	Growth	Absolute Growth
1	Lathrop	32,696	17,040	91.9%	15,656
2	Beaumont	54,817	32,847	66.9%	21,970
3	Dublin	70,542	42,657	65.4%	27,885
4	Imperial	20,943	13,406	56.2%	7,537
5	Irvine	308,160	199,117	54.8%	109,043
6	Menifee	107,020	72,494	47.6%	34,526
7	Lake Elsinore	71,516	48,644	47.0%	22,872
8	Rio Vista	10,002	6,874	45.5%	3,128
9	Brentwood	64,609	46,283	39.6%	18,326
10	Lincoln	51,629	37,771	36.7%	13,858