North Bay remains slowest-growing part of booming Bay Area

The North Bay continues to be the slowest-growing part of the booming Bay Area, according to new population and housing estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Housing construction has not kept pace with population growth across the Bay Area. The nine-county region has added 394,000 residents since 2010 but just 53,000 housing units during the same period - or more than seven people for every new unit of housing - fueling a rapid ?increase in home prices and rents.

Population growth and construction is notably slower in the North Bay. Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties added ?28,300 residents from 2010 to 2014, an increase of 3.4 percent to 902,700 people. The rest of the Bay Area saw an increase of ?6.1 percent, to 6.7 million people.

Construction of new housing also has lagged in the North Bay. Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties added 4,100 housing units during the four-year period, an increase of 1.2 percent to 374,800 housing units. The rest of the Bay Area saw an increase of ?2.1 percent, to 2.5 million units.

Sonoma County gained ?15,600 people during the four-year period and nearly 2,600 housing units, or six people for every new housing unit. The county now has 500,300 people and 207,200 houses, apartments and other housing units, the Census Bureau estimated.

Santa Rosa and Sebastopol were the fastest-growing cities, increasing their population by 3.8 percent during the four-year period. Cloverdale was the slowest-growing city, increasing its population by 2.1 percent, followed by Windsor and Cotati, which each saw a 2.3 percent increase.

To the north, population remained virtually flat in Mendocino County, increasing just 0.3 percent during the four-year period to 87,900 ?people. Lake County lost population, which declined 0.7 percent to 64,200 people.

Alameda and Santa Clara counties are the fastest-growing parts of the Bay Area, notching population gains that exceeded 6 percent.

The surge made San Jose the 10th city in the United States to have a population of 1 million or more.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.