Updated U.S. Census data shows the city of Woodland has grown significantly over the past decade, becoming more diverse and a leader in housing production amid a nationwide housing crisis. State.
The U.S. Constitution requires a national census every ten years that provides data used to inform governments about their democratic representation of city council districts in the House of Representatives.
Woodland City Council will receive an update on the data at its next meeting on Tuesday via Zoom.
“While the 10-year count was not perfect and experienced significant data collection challenges in 2020, the U.S. Census has once again yielded valuable information about our community,” the city staff report said.
Some of the new challenges the census faced in 2020 included residents being able to respond online for the first time, the federal government underfunded the census effort compared to previous years, it was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility that a citizenship question could be included.
“Despite these challenges, early studies indicate that once again, the 2020 census provided reliable and valuable information about our community,” the report adds.
Woodland’s population has increased nearly 10% since the last census to 61,032 from 55,468 in 2010.
“This increase of 5,564 represents 35.8% of Yolo County’s growth over the same period,” the report notes. “Woodland’s total population represents 28.2% of all Yolo County residents.”
Woodland’s total housing unit quantity also increased nearly 10% to 21,647 from 19,806 in 2010, accounting for 35.9% of housing unit growth in the county over the same period. .
The census also used two questions on racial and ethnic identity, but city staff chose to focus on Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish data in their report given the city’s demographics.
“Overall, Woodlanders of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish descent were well represented in 2010 and remain well represented in 2020,” the report said.
New census data revealed that there were 29,614 people identifying as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish in Woodland, up from 26,289 in 2010, representing about half of the city’s population.
For more information, read the agenda by visiting cityofwoodland.org/654/Meetings-Agendas. Public comments can be made by joining the council Zoom meeting, leaving a voicemail at (530) 661-5900 or emailing the City Clerk at Councilmeetings@cityofwoodland.org.